Exodus Movement, a publicly traded cryptocurrency company, has taken 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 last November. 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. However, they have since claimed that these loans do not need to be repaid, as stated in the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Howat and W3C are attempting to evade their commitments to the acquisition, citing a series of improper actions, including the manipulation of documents and the unauthorized dismissal of key personnel. In response to the lawsuit, Exodus CEO and Co-founder JP Richardson expressed confidence in the binding agreement and anticipated 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.