Exodus Movement, a publicly traded cryptocurrency company, has initiated legal action against W3C, the parent company of Baanx and Monovate, and its CEO, Garth Howat, in an effort to finalize the $175 million acquisition of W3C that was agreed upon in November of the previous year. A lawsuit has been filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, seeking to compel Howat to fulfill his obligations as outlined in the November 24, 2025 Stock Purchase Agreement. Upon signing the deal, Howat and W3C received $80 million in loans from Exodus, with Howat personally receiving $10 million, which he later claimed did not need to be repaid, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that Howat and W3C are engaged in a deliberate and improper attempt to evade completing the transaction, having accepted millions of dollars in loans and attempting to manipulate documents and dismiss key personnel in contravention of the binding agreement. Howat has yet to respond to requests for comment. The W3C subsidiaries, Baanx and Monovate, were responsible for the Crypto Life digital asset cards business, which collaborated with major players such as Mastercard and MetaMask.
Exodus CEO and Co-founder, JP Richardson, stated, 'We have a binding agreement with W3C and expect it to be fully honored. We are confident in the path forward and anticipate a swift resolution.'