Crypto wallet provider Exodus plans to utilize its Bitcoin reserves to finance a significant expansion into onchain payments, announcing a $175 million agreement to acquire W3C Corp, the parent company of payment infrastructure providers Monavate and Baanx.
This agreement, revealed on Monday, signifies a substantial strategic pivot for the NYSE-listed company. By integrating Monavate and Baanx, Exodus aims to become one of the few self-custodial wallets capable of managing the complete payments ecosystem, from crypto storage to card issuance.
“By bringing card and payments infrastructure in-house, we are closing the gap between holding and spending, and positioning Exodus as the only platform you need for your money,” stated CEO JP Richardson.
The company intends to incorporate issuing, processing, and compliance tools directly into its consumer and enterprise offerings. This move is expected to reduce dependence on third-party vendors and enable support for a wider array of assets, including the most prevalent payment stablecoins. Furthermore, Exodus anticipates gaining the capability to issue cards through major networks like Visa, Mastercard, and Discover.
Exodus Leverages Bitcoin Holdings for Acquisition Financing
To fund the $175 million acquisition, Exodus will utilize its existing cash reserves and draw from a credit facility with Galaxy Digital. This loan is secured by the company’s Bitcoin (BTC) holdings. As part of the acquisition terms, Exodus has already provided W3C with a $58.8 million loan to facilitate its purchase of Monavate and Baanx, with a potential for an additional $10 million in working capital. The transaction is anticipated to close in 2026.
“The economics from interchange, processing and program fees are expected to become a foundational part of our payments and transaction services business,” commented James Gernetzke, chief financial officer of Exodus.
Through this acquisition, XO Swap, Exodus’s onchain exchange aggregator, will gain access to Monavate and Baanx’s tools for programmable payouts and turnkey card issuance. This announcement follows Exodus’s recent acquisition of Grateful, a stablecoin payments startup operating in Latin America.
Exodus was contacted for comment but had not responded by the time of publication.
Crypto Payment Infrastructure Continues to Grow
Exodus’s planned acquisition of W3C occurs at a time when major payment networks are increasingly adopting stablecoins and blockchain-based settlement solutions.
In September, Visa initiated a pilot program designed to allow banks and financial institutions to pre-fund cross-border payments using USDC (USDC) and EURC (EURC), with the objective of accelerating global money transfers.
This development followed Swift’s announcement of its collaboration with Ethereum developer Consensys and over 30 financial institutions. The partnership aims to construct a blockchain-based settlement platform to facilitate real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments.