Exodus Movement, a publicly traded cryptocurrency company, has initiated legal proceedings against W3C, the parent company 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, 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 $10 million allocated personally to Howat, who subsequently claimed that repayment was not necessary, as alleged in the lawsuit. The lawsuit accuses Howat and W3C of engaging in a deliberate and improper attempt to renege on their commitment to sell W3C to Exodus, as stipulated in the binding agreement.
According to the lawsuit, their actions include attempting to misappropriate millions of dollars from a subsidiary, falsifying documents submitted to government authorities, and unlawfully dismissing and replacing key personnel. Howat has yet to respond to requests for comment. 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 with W3C and expect it to be fully honored. We are confident in our position and anticipate a swift resolution.'