# Erebor Watch Log News and developments about [[Erebor]], the national bank founded by Palmer Luckey and Joe Lonsdale, newest first: funding, quarterly regulatory filings, loans, new products, regulatory actions and executive moves. Each entry says what happened, why it matters and where the report came from. For the full picture, start with the [[Erebor Dossier]]; news about Luckey or Lonsdale personally is in the [[Palmer Luckey News Log]] and the [[Joe Lonsdale News Log]]. ## Log ### 2026-10-21 — Robinhood's public venture fund discloses a $30M purchase of Erebor preferred stock, closed Sept 17 - Robinhood Ventures Fund I (NYSE: RVI) announced it bought **$30M of preferred stock** in Erebor Bank, N.A. The deal closed **September 17**. Series, price and valuation were not disclosed, and the release does not say whether this is part of the ~$1.5B round. The release calls [[Jacob Hirshman]] "Co-Founder and Chairman." - Why it matters: [[Erebor]], [[Robinhood]], [[Erebor Investors]]. Retail investors can now hold a piece of Erebor through a listed fund. The Sept 17 date fits the round's reported closing window, but no closing has been confirmed. The "Chairman" title is another data point for the unresolved executive-titles question in [[Erebor Leadership]]. - Source: [Robinhood newsroom, 2026-10-21](https://robinhood.com/newsroom/rvi-invests-in-erebor/); [FX News Group, 2026-10-21](https://fxnewsgroup.com/forex-news/retail-forex/robinhood-ventures-fund-i-purchases-30m-of-preferred-stock-in-erebor-bank/) ### 2026-10-16 — Lobbying disclosure: Erebor pays Brownstein to lobby State, Commerce and Treasury on "overseas banking opportunities" and "international financial restoration frameworks" - Erebor's third-quarter lobbying report, filed October 16 by [[Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck]], shows **$110,000** for July–September (up from $70,000 in the second quarter). The only issue listed is foreign policy: "overseas banking opportunities and international growth" and "building international financial restoration frameworks." The agencies lobbied are the **Departments of State, Commerce and the Treasury**. The lobbyists are Samantha Carl-Yoder and Thomas Wotka. - Brownstein registered for Erebor on **June 12, 2026**, four weeks after Erebor's May pitch to Venezuela's central bank. Erebor's earlier lobbyist, Rich Feuer Anderson, lobbied on ordinary banking and financial-services issues from mid-2025 and filed its termination in April 2026. The change of firm came with a change of subject, from domestic banking to foreign expansion. - Why it matters: [[Erebor]], [[Venezuela]], [[Elizabeth Warren]]. The filing names no country. "Financial restoration" is the phrase used for rebuilding a sanctioned or collapsed banking system, and Treasury (which runs sanctions) is among the three agencies lobbied. That fits the Venezuela correspondent-banking talks and the October 15 hire of HSBC's Latin America FX head, but the filing does not say so; the link is an inference. - Source: [LD-2, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck for Erebor, Q3 2026 (filed 2026-10-16)](https://lda.gov/filings/public/filing/b819d233-ad1b-4c3d-9dd1-78cbba9caa88/print/); prior filings via the lda.gov client search for "Erebor" ### 2026-10-15 — Erebor hires HSBC's head of Latin America FX trading to build an emerging-markets business - Bloomberg reported that Erebor hired HSBC's head of Latin America foreign-exchange trading for a push into developing markets. The name and Erebor title were not in what was reachable. - Why it matters: [[Erebor]], [[Venezuela]] — the bank's one reported foreign effort is the May pitch to Venezuela's central bank and private banks on correspondent banking (see the 2026-05-15 entry below). A Latin America FX hire is consistent with that line of business, but nothing in the report ties the hire to Venezuela; treat any link as an open question. ⚠️ Single-sourced to Bloomberg (headline and Bloomberg's own post). - Source: [Palmer Luckey's Erebor recruits HSBC veteran for push into developing markets (Bloomberg, 2026-10-15)](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-15/palmer-luckey-s-erebor-hires-hsbc-banker-for-emerging-markets); [Bloomberg post on X](https://x.com/business/status/2110867079066767630) ### 2026-10-15 — Erebor launches a $20M "Nationwide Opportunity Initiative" chaired by former HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge - In a paid press release, Erebor committed **$20M**, starting in Columbus, to partner with local financial institutions funding community ventures (housing, job training, healthcare). The first partner is **Adelphi Bank**, a Columbus minority-owned bank founded in 2023. **Marcia Fudge**, Biden's HUD secretary and a former Ohio congresswoman, chairs it. CEO [[Owen Rapaport]] is quoted. - Why it matters: [[Erebor]], [[Elizabeth Warren]]. Every national bank is rated on community lending under the Community Reinvestment Act; the release does not mention the CRA. A Democratic former cabinet member as the face of the bank's community programme arrives while Warren's charter probe is open and three weeks before midterms that decide who chairs Senate Banking. $20M is small against more than $7B of deposits. The release also calls Rapaport "Co-Founder and CEO," one more data point for the unresolved title question. - Source: [Erebor Bank, N.A. announces Nationwide Opportunity Initiative, with Secretary Marcia Fudge as chair (PR Newswire, 2026-10-15)](https://prnewswire.com/news-releases/erebor-bank-na-announces-nationwide-opportunity-initiative-with-secretary-marcia-fudge-as-chair-302909306.html) ### 2026-10-06 — Deposits pass $7B, eight months after opening - The FT reported Erebor's deposits are above $7B, with more than $3B in deposits and 500+ new customers added over the prior quarter. That is up from $4.06B on the June 30 call report. - Why it matters: [[Erebor Call Reports]] — growth this fast strains the 12% leverage condition unless new equity arrives. The capital arithmetic is on that page. - Source: [Crowdfund Insider (Oct 6, 2026)](https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2026/10/316113-digital-bank-erebor-reportedly-holds-over-7-billion-in-deposits/); [TBPN (Oct 6, 2026)](https://tbpn.substack.com/p/erebor-passes-7b-in-deposits); [Crypto Briefing (Oct 6, 2026)](https://cryptobriefing.com/erebor-bank-3-billion-deposits-quarter) ### 2026-09-15 — Crypto trading firms exploited Erebor's free stablecoin redemptions; the bank added fees and limits - The Information reported that Erebor redeemed USDC and USDT at $1 with no fee. Wintermute bought USDT trading below $1 and redeemed it at Erebor for the difference; Galaxy Digital reportedly ran similar trades. Erebor told firms to stop, removed free conversion for customers without sizable deposits, and added volume-based fees and limits. Wintermute said it still does business with Erebor. The same report said the ~$1.5B round was **closing** at $8B pre-money. - Why it matters: [[Stablecoin]], [[Erebor Loan Book]] — the bank's balance sheet was briefly acting as a free backstop for the stablecoin peg, used by market-makers. A small episode, but it is the first public sign of how the "stablecoin-native bank" design behaves under real trading pressure. - Source: [BeInCrypto via Yahoo Finance, citing The Information (Sep 15, 2026)](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/articles/erebor-bank-free-stablecoin-plan-001141295.html); [Crypto Briefing (Sep 15, 2026)](https://cryptobriefing.com/erebor-bank-tightens-stablecoin-conversion-terms/) ### 2026-08-11 — The 2026 round is in advanced talks at ~$9.5B post-money; the FT reports the 12% leverage condition - The FT put the in-progress round at about $1.5B and a ~$9.5B valuation, with deposits at $4.6B at the end of July. Expected investors: [[Lux Capital]], Human Capital, [[Valor Equity Partners]], [[Andreessen Horowitz]], SV Angel, plus [[8VC]] and [[Haun Ventures]]. The FT also reported that Erebor must keep a leverage ratio of at least 12% for its first three years. Axios's "at least $8B" from the day before is the pre-money figure for the same deal. - Why it matters: [[Erebor Investors]], [[Erebor Call Reports]] - Source: [CoinDesk, citing the FT (Aug 11, 2026)](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/08/11/crypto-friendly-bank-erebor-in-talks-to-raise-usd1-5-billion-at-usd9-5-billion-valuation-ft); [Axios Pro (Aug 10, 2026)](https://www.axios.com/pro/fintech-deals/2026/08/10/erebor-raise-8-billion-valuation); [crypto.news (Aug 13, 2026)](https://crypto.news/erebor-bank-crypto-banking-valuation-silvergate/) ### 2026-08-04 — Erebor leads a $200M credit facility for Valar Atomics, its first large disclosed loan - Erebor was lead lender and administrative agent on a $200M facility for nuclear startup [[Valar Atomics]], alongside J.P. Morgan, Crescent Cove and Hercules Capital. It was announced alongside Valar's $1B Series B, led by [[Sequoia Capital]], which included [[Valor Equity Partners]]. Erebor's own share is undisclosed. - Why it matters: [[Erebor Loan Book]] — the bank's shift from holding deposits to lending, and the overlap with its own investors (Valor is on both sides). - Source: [Goodwin (Aug 4, 2026)](https://www.goodwinlaw.com/en/news-and-events/news/2026/08/announcements-technology-goodwin-guides-valar-atomics); [Morgan Lewis (Aug 4, 2026)](https://www.morganlewis.com/news/2026/08/morgan-lewis-advises-crescent-cove-in-financing-for-valar-atomics) ### 2026-07 (filed for Jun 30) — First full-quarter call report: $4.06B deposits, $77.8M loans, equity 12.8% of assets - Total assets $4.66B; cash and balances at other banks $4.17B; equity $597.4M; Tier 1 leverage ratio 38.81% (on average assets); net loss $10.3M. - Why it matters: [[Erebor Call Reports]] — a deposit vault with little lending, and capital close to the floor on a quarter-end basis. - Source: [BankRegReports (FFIEC data)](https://www.bankregreports.com/banks/erebor-bank-national-association-6053129/); [Airwallex profile (Aug 25, 2026)](https://www.airwallex.com/en-us/blog/erebor-bank) ### 2026-07-02 — Bloomberg: talks at a valuation of at least $8B as deposits nearly quadruple - Source: [Bloomberg (Jul 2, 2026)](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-02/palmer-luckey-s-erebor-bank-eyes-at-least-8-billion-valuation) ### 2026-05-15 — Erebor pitches Venezuela's central bank and private banks on correspondent banking - Co-founder [[Jacob Hirshman]] pitched Luis Pérez, interim president of Venezuela's central bank, plus Banco Nacional de Crédito, Banco Mercantil and Bancamiga, on correspondent lines and client subaccounts. The pitch came after the U.S. eased sanctions on the central bank in mid-April. Erebor called the talks "preliminary." A person close to the talks said Hirshman claimed U.S. government backing; that claim is unconfirmed. - Why it matters: [[Venezuela]] — a six-month-old bank offering to be a sanctioned-adjacent country's bridge back into the dollar system. - Source: [Bloomberg (May 15, 2026)](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-15/thiel-backed-erebor-offers-venezuela-unlikely-banking-lifeline); [Bloomberg Línea (May 15, 2026)](https://www.bloomberglinea.com/latinoamerica/venezuela/esta-startup-respaldada-por-peter-thiel-ofrece-a-venezuela-un-salvavidas-bancario-inesperado/) ### 2026-04-23 — Warren obtains Erebor's fundraising memo and widens her probe - Senator [[Elizabeth Warren]] wrote to Comptroller [[Jonathan Gould]] and to [[Palmer Luckey]]. She cited a memo Erebor had refused to hand over after her February inquiry. It promised a charter "in less than 6 months from submission," cited Luckey's "political network" and a co-founder's "unique" connections to the Comptroller, and described plans to lend against crypto, private securities and GPUs and eventually to "deploy its own assets into DeFi." Response deadline: May 6, 2026. - Why it matters: [[OCC]], [[Revolving Door]], [[Erebor Loan Book]] - Source: [Senate Banking Committee minority (Apr 23, 2026)](https://www.banking.senate.gov/newsroom/minority/warren-deepens-probe-of-seemingly-corrupt-approval-of-bank-charter-for-trumps-billionaire-friends-in-silicon-valley) ### 2026-04 — Infinite launches business accounts built on Erebor's charter - Fintech company Infinite launched hybrid fiat and stablecoin business accounts with Erebor Bank, N.A. as the regulated bank underneath. - Source: [Airwallex profile (Aug 25, 2026)](https://www.airwallex.com/en-us/blog/erebor-bank); [Crypto Briefing (Sep 15, 2026)](https://cryptobriefing.com/erebor-bank-tightens-stablecoin-conversion-terms/) ### 2026-03 — Fundrise Innovation Fund invests - Source: [FinSMES (Mar 2026)](https://www.finsmes.com/2026/03/erebor-bank-receives-investment-from-fundrise-innovation-fund.html) ### 2026-02-08 — Bank opens (final national charter Feb 6) - Reported as the first new national bank charter under the current administration. - Source: [Senate Banking Committee minority (Apr 23, 2026)](https://www.banking.senate.gov/newsroom/minority/warren-deepens-probe-of-seemingly-corrupt-approval-of-bank-charter-for-trumps-billionaire-friends-in-silicon-valley); [Airwallex profile](https://www.airwallex.com/en-us/blog/erebor-bank) ### 2025-12 — $350M round at $4.35B led by Lux Capital; FDIC approves deposit insurance - Source: [Yahoo Finance](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/peter-thiel-backed-bank-erebor-043223016.html) ### 2025-10-15 — OCC grants conditional approval, four months after the application - Comptroller Gould: "Erebor is the first de novo bank to receive a preliminary conditional approval since I arrived at the OCC." The release lists no conditions. [[Skadden]] lawyer Adam Cohen, who worked on the application, had joined the OCC as chief counsel in August 2025 (see [[Erebor]]). - Source: [OCC News Release 2025-101 (Oct 15, 2025)](https://occ.treas.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2025/nr-occ-2025-101.html) ### 2025-06-11 — Charter application filed with the OCC - Source: [Airwallex profile](https://www.airwallex.com/en-us/blog/erebor-bank) ## See also - [[Erebor]] — the main company page - [[Erebor Dossier]] — the full dossier