The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has approved a new national bank charter for Erebor Bank, marking the first newly created national bank authorized during President Donald Trump’s second term, the OCC confirmed Friday. The approval allows the crypto-friendly lender to operate nationwide.
Erebor is launching with about $635 million in capital and intends to serve startups, venture-backed companies and high-net-worth clients—segments that tightened access to banking after the 2023 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. The bank is backed by prominent technology investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, 8VC and Elad Gil. Oculus co-creator Palmer Luckey is a founder and will sit on the board but will not run daily operations.
Positioning itself as a specialist lender, Erebor plans to focus on emerging industries such as defense technology, robotics and advanced manufacturing, targeting companies working on AI-driven factories, aerospace research and pharmaceutical production in low-gravity environments. Luckey has described the bank as “like a farmers’ bank for tech,” arguing that traditional banks often lack the expertise to assess startups with unconventional assets.
Erebor also intends to integrate blockchain-based payment rails to enable continuous settlement—transactions beyond typical business hours—an uncommon feature in the U.S. banking system. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has approved deposit insurance for the institution. The bank’s strategy includes extending credit backed by crypto holdings or private securities and financing purchases of high-performance AI chips.
Erebor received preliminary conditional approval from the OCC in October and later secured FDIC deposit insurance. The startup was valued at roughly $2 billion in a funding round last year and reached about $4 billion after raising $350 million in a round led by Lux Capital.
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