Crypto wallet firm Exodus sues W3C and its CEO Garth Howat, seeking to compel $175M acquisition

Listed cryptocurrency firm Exodus Movement (EXOD) is suing W3C, the parent company of crypto card and payments specialists Baanx and Monovate, and its chief executive, Garth Howat, to complete its $175 million acquisition of W3C, agreed in November of last year.

A lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery seeks to compel Howat to comply with obligations under the November 24, 2025 Stock Purchase Agreement.

Howat and W3C accepted $80 million worth of loans from Exodus upon signing the deal, with $10 million given to Howat personally, who then declared that they did not need to repay these loans, according to the lawsuit.

“Defendants Garth Howat and W3C are engaged in a blatant, reckless, and improper campaign to escape closing a transaction for the sale of W3C to Exodus that they had promised to complete in a binding agreement,” the lawsuit states.

“They have attempted to pilfer millions of dollars from one of their own subsidiaries. They have falsely backdated documents filed with government authorities. They have purported to summarily dismiss entire boards of directors, as well as the CEO and CFO of their key operating entity, and replace them with lackeys of their choosing, despite being precluded from doing so by the binding agreement,” it said.

Howat did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

W3C companies Baanx and Monovate were behind the Crypto Life digital asset cards business that worked with the likes of Mastercard and MetaMask.

JP Richardson, CEO and Co-founder of Exodus commented, “We have a binding agreement with W3C and expect it to be fully honored. We’re confident in the path forward and anticipate a swift resolution.”