Exodus Movement, a listed cryptocurrency firm, 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 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 under 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 to Howat personally, 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 campaign to evade completing the transaction, citing actions such as attempting to misappropriate millions of dollars from a subsidiary, falsifying documents filed with government authorities, and unilaterally dismissing and replacing key personnel. Howat has yet to respond to requests for comment. The W3C subsidiaries, Baanx and Monovate, were instrumental in the development of the Crypto Life digital asset cards business, which collaborated with prominent companies like 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 path forward and anticipate a swift resolution.'