Bolt's co-founder and CEO, Ryan Breslow, has made a comeback after a temporary ouster, and he's wasting no time in making big announcements. On Monday, Breslow spoke at the Fintech Meetup in Las Vegas, addressing the controversy surrounding a $30 million personal loan he took out from his company, which sparked legal battles and contributed to his initial departure.

The legal battle began in 2023 when Bolt investor Activant sued Breslow, alleging that he had saddled the startup with $30 million in debt by borrowing the amount and then defaulting, with company funds used to pay it back. The case was eventually settled, with Bolt agreeing to repurchase Activant's shares for $37 million last year. Breslow defended the loan, framing it as an act of loyalty to Bolt rather than self-dealing, as alleged by Activant.

According to Breslow, he took out the loan instead of selling his stock in a secondaries transaction, and it was unanimously approved by Bolt's board. He claimed that he wanted to show all of Bolt's investors that he was committed to the company's success, keeping all his "chips in" and believing in the stock. Breslow said he thought he had plenty of time to pay back the loan, waiting for Bolt to IPO to do so. However, after he left the CEO role, the board called in the loan, which he viewed as "a bit of an attack."

Breslow has faced allegations of misleading investors and violating security laws by inflating metrics while fundraising during his previous tenure as CEO. On Monday, he admitted to making "a ton of mistakes" but clarified that they were not the ones he was accused of. Instead, he attributed his main mistake to allowing people to join Bolt's cap table that he "did not know very well" (without specifying who).

In a significant announcement, Breslow revealed that Bolt will soon be launching an "everything app" that integrates one-click checkouts for various services, including financial services, peer-to-peer, crypto, cards, and financial products. He compared Bolt to UK fintech Revolut, which was valued at $45 billion last year, claiming Bolt has 80 million "wallets" compared to Revolut's 45 million. However, he acknowledged that Bolt has not yet "monetized our consumers."

Despite the ambitious plans, questions remain about Bolt's next fundraise. In August, news broke about a pending $450 million fundraise deal, but it raised concerns over its unusual use of $250 million "marketing credits" and lack of confirmation from an investor mistakenly identified as its lead. Some of Bolt's investors, including Blackrock and Hedosophia, sued to block the round, but that has been voluntarily dismissed by all parties, Bolt announced today.

Breslow noted that "all" the legal cases against him are "fully settled, dismissed" but didn't provide an update on the $450 million fundraise. He expressed a newfound determination to run Bolt after his faith and himself – and his startup – were challenged. "You know, I obviously make mistakes but I've got a very big chip on my shoulder," he said. "I'm ready to take Bolt to really new heights."

Blackrock and Hedosophia didn't respond to a request for comment. As Bolt moves forward with its "everything app" and navigates its fundraising efforts, the fintech industry will be watching closely to see if Breslow can deliver on his promises and overcome the controversies surrounding his return as CEO.