PANews reported on July 2 that Xinhua News Agency quoted the Financial Times as saying that a group of Silicon Valley billionaires have applied for a banking license in the United States and are preparing to open a national bank to focus on supporting start-ups in cryptocurrency and other businesses. People familiar with the matter said that the new bank is named after the treasure hiding place in The Lord of the Rings, "Erebor", and the main investors are Silicon Valley's big "financial backers" of the current Republican government in the United States, such as Peter Thiel, Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey, and Palantir founder Joe Lonsdale.

According to the application documents disclosed earlier this week, Lone Mountain Bank will be a national bank that provides traditional banking products and virtual currency-related products and services to businesses and individuals. The main target customers are companies involved in the U.S. "innovation economy", especially those in the fields of cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, defense and manufacturing, as well as individuals who work or invest in these companies, including those with "inadequate credit access". The bank will also seek to cooperate with non-U.S. companies that "interested in entering the U.S. banking system." It is reported that Lone Mountain Bank will be headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, with an office in New York City, and will only provide online customer service.