In an era when financial technology is evolving faster than ever, a few key players are at the forefront of this transformation. Among them is Knox Networks, a company that aims to reshape how financial institutions manage and move assets. Natalya Thakur, Co-Founder and CEO of Knox Networks, recently shared her insights into the future of fintech during a conversation on #NYSEFloorTalk with Judy Shaw.

Thakur spoke with precision and passion about the potential of multi-asset ledgers, the challenges of legacy systems, and the opportunities that lie ahead for financial innovation.

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“What we’re building at Knox is a multi-asset transaction ledger that provides secure movement of all regulated financial assets,” Thakur explained. “Today, when assets and money move, there are a lot of ledgers and rails behind the ecosystem, and it’s highly inefficient. There are just too many systems.” Knox is positioning itself as a solution to that inefficiency by providing a unified ledger service where financial institutions can manage their connections and transactions across both internal and external accounts.

Bridging Legacy Systems with Modern Infrastructure

Knox Networks aims to bridge the gap between traditional and digital assets, a task that is crucial as the financial world grows increasingly complex. According to Thakur, “Financial institutions today struggle with reconciliation, settlement risk, and fraud, all of which are exacerbated by the lack of real-time monitoring and interoperability across different asset classes.” This becomes even more complex when traditional assets are mixed with emerging digital currencies and digital wallets, which require a new kind of infrastructure to streamline transactions seamlessly.

“We really want to be the bridge between these two ecosystems,” Thakur emphasized. The essence of what Knox aims to achieve is providing a consistent, real-time overview of cash and asset positions that helps financial institutions mitigate the challenges posed by outdated, siloed systems.

A Unique Background in Finance and Technology

Thakur’s journey into fintech innovation is as compelling as Knox’s ambitions. With over a decade of experience in traditional finance and digital assets, she has built her career at the intersection of the two domains, crafting her expertise in the future of money systems. “I’ve spent the last 10 years working at the intersection of traditional finance and digital assets,” Thakur noted. Her experience includes work on the capital markets desk at BlackRock and initial blockchain projects at Google.

She has also been involved with several global initiatives aimed at standardizing and developing future monetary systems, including co-founding the Stanford Future of Digital Currency Initiative, in partnership with global banks and the United Nations. Thakur is also a member of the Bretton Woods Committee, which consists of financial executives and CEOs committed to preserving an innovative and resilient financial system.

Key Milestones and Vision for 2025

Building a reliable, high-performance ledger infrastructure that meets the needs of regulated financial institutions is no easy feat. Knox spent its early years heavily focused on research and development, ensuring the technology it built could meet the high standards required by major financial institutions. “We spent our early years in R&D, trying to build the best multi-asset ledger and piloting with some of the largest global banking institutions,” Thakur explained. Those efforts have earned Knox global recognition, including awards from the G20, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and even the White House.

This year, Knox shifted its focus from R&D to commercialization. According to Thakur, “We’re not just deploying our tech for banks; we’re thinking about how it can be applied across exchanges, asset managers, and other types of institutions.” Looking forward to 2025, Knox aims to capitalize on the network effects offered by its technology. “Our goal is to continue building on our partnerships and begin connecting different institutions that are using Knox, creating an interconnected financial ecosystem,” she added.

Shaping the Future of FinTech: Partnerships and Applications

Knox is particularly interested in partnering with financial institutions that span both traditional and digital assets. The target audience includes teams responsible for settlement and reconciliation, a crucial aspect of financial infrastructure that is often fraught with inefficiencies. Thakur pointed to Stripe’s recent acquisition of Bridge as a signal of where the industry is heading. “Stablecoins are becoming a bigger part of financial institutions’ operations, and Knox can help these institutions plug into their stablecoin ecosystem of choice, while offering a real-time view of all cash, asset, and stablecoin positions,” she said.

The broader trend, Thakur explained, is towards a “rebundling” of financial services. In an industry where fragmentation has often been the rule, Knox is working to unify different types of financial operations under a single, powerful system. “A lot of financial institutions are saying they want one system to do more things, instead of having 15 different systems to manage 15 different asset classes,” she said.

Advice for FinTech Entrepreneurs

When asked for her advice to emerging founders in fintech, Thakur offered a mix of practicality and wisdom. “First off, you need to be obsessed with what you’re building and truly respect the people you’re working with,” she said. “Ideally, you’re working with people who are much smarter than you. It helps maintain level-headedness through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.”

Thakur also emphasized the importance of being intentional about customer acquisition. “Who you sell to in the first three months of your business is very different from who you sell to in year five or ten. That first customer is your most important, and they set the tone for everything that follows,” she said. Lastly, Thakur underscored the need for resilience in the face of the unpredictable. “Outcomes in your business are influenced by so many factors beyond your control. If something doesn’t go as planned, just pick up and move on quickly.”

A Bold Vision for the Future

The work that Knox Networks is undertaking is ambitious, but it’s precisely what the financial sector needs as it grapples with digital transformation and a future increasingly defined by digital assets. Thakur’s vision—one in which traditional financial systems are brought into harmony with the emerging digital asset landscape—is already taking shape, and 2025 promises to be a pivotal year.

With plans to leverage network effects and connect financial institutions on an interoperable platform, Knox Networks could very well be the bridge that the fragmented world of finance desperately needs. As the industry moves towards fewer, more integrated systems, Thakur’s company is positioned to play a leading role in ensuring that financial technology not only advances but does so in a way that is secure, transparent, and efficient.

“We’re building the infrastructure for the future of finance,” Thakur concluded. “One that’s truly interoperable and capable of adapting to whatever comes next.”