Erebor Bank
“Can a de novo national bank become the crypto-native, stablecoin-issuing successor to Silicon Valley Bank for the AI, defense and digital-asset innovation economy?”
Erebor was conceived in the aftermath of Silicon Valley Bank's 2023 collapse to serve the venture-backed innovation economy — startups in AI, crypto, defense and advanced manufacturing — that lost their preferred banking partner. Backed by Palmer Luckey (Anduril), Joe Lonsdale's 8VC, Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and Haun Ventures, the bank pursued a de novo national charter from the OCC rather than partnering with an existing sponsor bank. Its differentiator is native stablecoin issuance, crypto custody and blockchain-based payment rails held directly on a chartered bank balance sheet, positioning it as the first US crypto-native national bank and a competitor to infrastructure banks like Column and Lead Bank.