Exodus Movement, a publicly traded cryptocurrency company, has initiated legal proceedings against W3C, the parent entity of Baanx and Monovate, and its CEO Garth Howat, in an effort to finalize the $175 million acquisition agreed upon in November of the previous year. The lawsuit, currently underway 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 deal, Howat and W3C received $80 million in loans from Exodus, with $10 million allocated directly to Howat, who subsequently claimed that these loans did not require repayment, as alleged in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit accuses Howat and W3C of engaging in a deliberate and improper campaign to evade completing the transaction, citing attempts to misappropriate millions of dollars from a subsidiary, falsify documents submitted to government authorities, and unilaterally dismiss and replace key personnel in contravention of the binding agreement. In response to a request for comment, Howat did not immediately provide a statement. Notably, W3C's subsidiaries Baanx and Monovate were instrumental in the development of the Crypto Life digital asset cards business, which collaborated with prominent industry players such as Mastercard and MetaMask. Exodus CEO and Co-founder JP Richardson stated, 'We have a binding agreement in place with W3C and expect it to be fully honored.
We are confident in our position and anticipate a prompt resolution.'