The company that settles payments in actual central bank money on a blockchain has just hired three of the people who used to run those central banks. Fnality, the London-based settlement firm backed by major global banks, announced Thursday that former Bank of England deputy governor Jon Cunliffe will chair its UK board as it builds new euro and US dollar payment systems.
By Amir Hassan | September 10, 2026
The Hook: Wall Street’s Blockchain Settlement Firm Goes Recruiting
Fnality is not a crypto startup chasing retail traders. It builds blockchain-based settlement systems that let banks pay each other using central bank money — the safest form of money that exists, the same type of funds banks hold directly at institutions like the Bank of England. Its sterling payment system launched in 2023 and is regulated by the Bank of England.
Think of it this way: when banks move money between themselves today, the final settlement usually happens through central bank systems that close at night and on weekends. Fnality’s blockchain version keeps the same ultra-safe money but moves it around the clock — like upgrading from bank branch hours to a 24/7 express lane.
Who Joined: A Trio of Central Bank Heavyweights
According to Thursday’s announcement, three former senior central bankers are joining Fnality’s leadership:
- Jon Cunliffe — former Bank of England deputy governor, named chair of Fnality’s UK board
- Jochen Metzger — former Deutsche Bundesbank director general for payments and settlement systems, joining the European subsidiary’s supervisory board, where he is expected to take the chair
- Ron Berndsen — former senior official at the Dutch central bank, also joining the board
Cunliffe, one of the most respected voices in global financial regulation, did not mince words about why he took the role. “As the tokenisation of financial markets gathers pace, settlement in the safest assets available will be crucial to maintaining financial stability,” he said in the announcement.
The Core Conflict: Two Continents, Two New Payment Systems
The hires are not decorative. Fnality is racing to expand beyond its UK sterling system, and the new board members map directly onto its geographic ambitions:
In Europe, Fnality has established a subsidiary in Eschborn, Germany, to develop its proposed euro payment system — which is presumably where Metzger’s Bundesbank expertise comes in. In the United States, the company has set up Fnality Bank U.S. in Stamford, Connecticut, where it is developing plans for a dollar system and, importantly, is already engaging with US regulators — Berndsen and Cunliffe bring exactly that kind of supervisory fluency.
The company says its blockchain settlement infrastructure is designed to support tokenized asset markets — financial instruments like bonds or funds represented as digital tokens — as well as banks’ activity in stablecoins and tokenized deposits. In plain terms: as more of finance moves onto blockchains, someone has to handle the final, safe transfer of real money. Fnality wants to be that someone.
Market Implications: Why Regular Investors Should Care
You will never open a Fnality account yourself — its customers are banks. But the underlying trend matters for anyone holding crypto or tokenized assets. When traditional finance builds serious settlement rails, it becomes easier for institutions to buy, sell and hold digital assets at scale. That is the plumbing behind every future ETF, tokenized fund and cross-border payment.
The money behind Fnality signals how seriously banks take this. The firm raised 136 million USD in a Series C funding round in September 2025, with participation from investors including Temasek, Euroclear and Goldman Sachs, according to data compiled by Traxcn. For market context, Bitcoin was trading near 77,900 USD and Ethereum around 2,462 USD at the time of writing, per CoinGecko data — but infrastructure stories like this one play out over years, not days.
The Verdict
Hiring the people who once supervised you is a classic move when a company needs regulatory trust — and Fnality needs plenty of it to launch euro and dollar systems. If those systems go live, banks on both sides of the Atlantic would gain a way to settle in central bank money around the clock on shared blockchain rails. That is a quiet revolution with no price chart — but it may matter more for the future of digital finance than any memecoin rally.
The cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency markets are volatile; always do your own research before investing.
Cunliffe spent years at the BoE cautioning about crypto and now chairs a blockchain settlement firm. the revolving door never stops spinning
to be fair fnality settles in central bank money, which is exactly the thing he said crypto lacked. he is consistent if anything
sterling system live since 2023 and regulated by the Bank of England. this is the boring plumbing that actually matters, not another l2 airdrop
ex central bankers joining a settlement blockchain is either the biggest validation ever or the most elaborate revolving door. honestly could be both
Sterling went live in 2023 and has processed real onus payments since then. The euro and dollar legs are new builds but the base system is well past promise stage.
meanwhile US Bank already moved a real cross border payment with USBDC on Stellar this week. the big bank consortium stuff is moving faster than people think
USBDC on stellar is a press release until real volumes show up. Fnality settled actual onus sterling, completely different tier of proof
USBDC moved one payment and it still made headlines. sterling fnality has been settling real onus payments since 2023, the gap in proof between the two is enormous
one payment versus two years of settlement volumes and the demo still gets more ink. marketing beats plumbing every time
different animal though. USBDC moving one payment is a demo, Fnality settling in central bank money under BoE supervision since 2023 is regulated plumbing. Cunliffe would not chair a demo
he wouldnt chair a demo but he would chair a roadmap. the dollar system is still a build out, his Rolodex is basically the funding pitch
the Rolodex line is real. a former deputy governor opening doors at the ECB and the Fed is worth more to fnality than any series C they could raise
a former deputy governor who still picks up the phone at the Fed is the cheapest fundraising instrument fnality will ever get
leaning validation here. he oversaw BoE payments while the sterling system went live in 2023, joining Fnality now is finishing his own project more than a revolving door
fair point, he oversaw the sterling system going live in 2023. this reads more like being bored of warning people than a cash grab
both is the honest answer. cunliffe finishes what he spent years lecturing about and fnality gets a chair who can walk into any central bank meeting on earth
Fnality has been promising wholesale settlement in central bank money since 2019. Cunliffe is a serious hire but I will believe the euro and dollar systems when they process a live payment, not before.
sterling went live in 2023 and settles real onus payments, so the 2019 promise already cashed one leg. euro and dollar are the stretch, agreed
sterling has processed real onus payments since 2023 though. waiting for the dollar leg before cheering is fair, but the base system is past promise stage
The interesting part is the dollar leg. Sterling Fnality was always the pilot. If the USDC-adjacent infrastructure and Fnality dollar systems end up competing, banks will have real choices for the first time.
agreed on the dollar leg being the story. if fnality gets US dollar settlement live before any regulated american equivalent, every treasury desk at least has to take the meeting
if the dollar system lands first the US has to respond with something. no american bank wants wholesale settlement running through london
exactly this. if the sterling and euro legs settle first, washington suddenly has to answer for slow walking its own wholesale rails
euro and dollar systems after sterling was the only roadmap that made sense. banks will not touch settlement tokens without central bank backing, and Cunliffe chairing the UK board is exactly the regulator handshake Fnality lacked
Cunliffe spent years at the BoE warning about settlement risk in private money, now he builds the alternative. that hire opens doors at every other central bank
central bank money settlement is the one blockchain use case banks cant argue with. cunliffe writing the strategy then chairing the build is how policy actually ships
Cunliffe writing BoE warnings for years then building the settlement layer is the least hypocritical move a former regulator can make. credit where due