Protego Holdings Corp. has accused Texas-based Blackie Capital Inc. of reneging on a $200 million investment crucial to launching its cryptocurrency bank, resulting in the collapse of its rare conditional approval from the U.S. government.
The Washington-based company filed a lawsuit alleging that Blackie pledged the massive investment in January 2023 but repeatedly stalled with empty promises and failed to deliver, causing irreparable damage to Protego.
“Blackie’s failure to satisfy the requirements of the note purchase agreement has damaged Protego in an amount dwarfing even Blackie’s original $200 million commitment,” the lawsuit states.
OCC Approval Falls Apart Amid Funding Delays
Protego was among the few entities granted conditional approval by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in February 2021 to operate as a national bank handling cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals.
By the time of the deal with Blackie, Protego had already raised over $80 million and believed Blackie, which presented itself as a billion-dollar family trust, could quickly provide the funds.
