Exodus Movement Files Lawsuit to Force $175 Million W3C Acquisition

Exodus Movement (EXOD) has initiated legal proceedings in the Delaware Court of Chancery against W3C and its Chief Executive, Garth Howat. The firm is seeking to compel the completion of a $175 million acquisition of W3C, a deal that was originally finalized in November 2025. W3C operates as the parent company for crypto payment specialists Baanx and Monovate, which have previously collaborated with major industry players including Mastercard and MetaMask to provide digital asset card services. According to the lawsuit, Exodus provided $80 million in loans upon the signing of the Stock Purchase Agreement, which included a $10 million personal loan to Howat. The filing alleges that the defendants are engaged in a reckless campaign to avoid closing the transaction and have claimed they are not required to repay the provided loans. Furthermore, the complaint accuses Howat and W3C of backdating documents filed with government authorities and improperly dismissing boards of directors and key executives to install preferred replacements, in direct violation of the binding agreement. Exodus CEO and Co-founder JP Richardson stated that the company expects the binding agreement to be fully honored and anticipates a swift resolution to the matter. The outcome of the case will determine if Exodus can successfully integrate W3C's payment infrastructure into its existing wallet ecosystem.