Blockchains.com Founder Buys Community Bank to Finance Crypto Dreams

Jeffrey Berns, eccentric founder of blockchain incubation and investment firm Blockchains.com, purchased a small community bank in Las Vegas, Nevada in order to secure financing as he manifests his decentralized dreams, according to The Nevada Independent.

His $28 million acquisition of the Kirkwood Bank of Nevada "Is a small but critical step in helping the nascent company achieve its wildly ambitious goals," reported The Nevada Independent.

In addition to financing his own projects, Berns hopes Kirkwood Bank of Nevada will become a leading bank for the blockchain industry.

"It's to create an environment where the blockchain ecosystem, the legitimate businesses out there who are trying to build projects that are going to empower the individual and better the world have a bank that understands what they're doing and isn't fearful," he said.

"Banks are hesitant, because if this takes off, you don't need banks anymore. They become obsolete," Berns said.

Berns purchased the bank through a separate holding company to mitigate the reporting and ownership responsibilities.

"I don't think the regulators would have ever been comfortable with that," he said, adding he may attempt limited integration of Blockchains with the bank to create a sandbox to test his financial technology and blockchain ideas.

Berns' negotiation with Kirkwood began in February 2018, after he spent a year searching for a banking partner.

According to the FDIC the bank has more than $86.6 million in assets and has had a 9.14 percent return on equity in 2019.

Bank President John Dru said were no immediate planned changes for banking operations except for the name and a branch opening in Northern Nevada.