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 directly to Howat, 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 attempts to misappropriate millions of dollars from a subsidiary, falsify documents, and unilaterally dismiss and replace key personnel in contravention of the binding agreement. Howat has yet to respond to requests for comment.
Notably, W3C subsidiaries Baanx and Monovate were involved in the Crypto Life digital asset cards business, which collaborated with major players such as Mastercard and MetaMask. Exodus CEO and Co-founder JP Richardson stated, 'We have a binding agreement in place with W3C and expect it to be fully respected. We are confident in our position and anticipate a prompt resolution.'