Exodus Movement, a publicly traded cryptocurrency company, has initiated legal proceedings against W3C, the parent company of cryptocurrency payment specialists 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, filed 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 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 attempting to evade their commitment to complete the sale of W3C to Exodus, as stipulated in the binding agreement.
The defendants are accused of engaging in a series of improper actions, including the manipulation of documents filed with government authorities and the unauthorized dismissal of key executives. In response to the allegations, 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 our position and anticipate a swift resolution.' W3C's subsidiaries, Baanx and Monovate, were previously involved in the Crypto Life digital asset cards business, which collaborated with major industry players such as Mastercard and MetaMask.