Exodus Movement, a publicly traded cryptocurrency company, has initiated a lawsuit 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, the lawsuit claims that Howat has since asserted that these loans do not need to be repaid.
The lawsuit accuses Howat and W3C of engaging in a deliberate and improper attempt to evade completing the transaction, citing actions such as the alleged misappropriation of millions of dollars from a subsidiary, the falsification of documents filed with government authorities, and the unjustified 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.'