Exodus Movement, a publicly traded cryptocurrency company, 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 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 to Howat personally, who subsequently claimed that repayment was not required, as alleged in the lawsuit. The lawsuit accuses Howat and W3C of engaging in a deliberate and reckless campaign to evade completing the transaction, citing actions such as the attempted misappropriation of millions of dollars from a subsidiary, falsification of documents submitted to government authorities, and unauthorized dismissal and replacement of key personnel.
In response to the allegations, 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 swift resolution.'