Erebor, a new crypto-focused US bank - Peter Thiel and Palantir

 

Tolkien-inspired crypto bank gets govt approval

Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images

RIP Smeagol, you would’ve hated the idea of precious treasures that no one can physically grasp. And hello to Erebor, a new crypto-focused US bank that received initial federal approval this week, teeing it up to fill a financing gap left by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and other tech lenders in 2023. Erebor—named after a mountain from JRR Tolkien’s universe where a dragon guarded immeasurable riches—was co-founded earlier this year by Palmer Luckey: That’s the guy with a soul patch and mullet who runs the weapons manufacturer Anduril, which is also the name of Aragorn’s sword from The Lord of the Rings. Erebor investors include Joe Lonsdale and Peter Thiel, co-founders of Palantir, the oft-protested software company that…also gets its name from the Tolkien franchise. Luckey’s new venture will offer traditional and crypto-oriented banking to upstart tech companies and the ultrawealthy, according to its charter application and approval letter. It needs another stamp of approval from more federal officials before operations can commence, but road bumps are unlikely under President Trump’s crypto-friendly administration. “Palmer’s political network will get this done,” an Erebor fundraising memo promised earlier this year. Luckey, Lonsdale, and Thiel are longtime Trump backers, and an attorney who helped them draft Erebor’s charter application is now chief counsel to the federal official who just granted the bank’s preliminary approval.