Exodus Movement, a publicly traded cryptocurrency firm, has taken legal action against W3C, the parent company of cryptocurrency payment specialists Baanx and Monovate, as well as its CEO Garth Howat, in an effort to finalize the $175 million acquisition agreed upon in November of the previous year. The lawsuit, currently pending in the Delaware Court of Chancery, seeks to compel Howat to fulfill his obligations as outlined in the November 24, 2025 Stock Purchase Agreement.
Upon signing the agreement, Howat and W3C received $80 million in loans from Exodus, with an additional $10 million allocated to Howat personally. However, the lawsuit alleges that Howat has since claimed the loans do not require repayment.
The lawsuit characterizes the actions of Howat and W3C as a deliberate attempt to evade the terms of the acquisition agreement, citing instances of financial mismanagement and falsified documents. According to the lawsuit, "Defendants Garth Howat and W3C are engaged in a blatant, reckless, and improper campaign to escape closing a transaction for the sale of W3C to Exodus that they had promised to complete in a binding agreement." The lawsuit further accuses Howat and W3C of attempting to misappropriate funds from their subsidiaries, falsifying documents, and making unauthorized changes to the company's leadership structure. Howat has yet to respond to requests for comment. The W3C subsidiaries, Baanx and Monovate, were involved in the development of the Crypto Life digital asset cards, which collaborated with major industry players such as Mastercard and MetaMask.
In a statement, JP Richardson, CEO and Co-founder of Exodus, expressed confidence in the outcome of the lawsuit, saying, "We have a binding agreement with W3C and expect it to be fully honored. We’re confident in the path forward and anticipate a swift resolution."