Publicly-listed cryptocurrency company Exodus Movement (EXOD) is suing W3C, the parent company of crypto card and payments specialists Baanx and Monovate, and its CEO Garth Howat, to complete its $175 million acquisition of W3C, agreed in November last year.
A lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery seeks to force Howat to comply with obligations under the Nov. 24, 2025 Stock Purchase Agreement.
Howat and W3C accepted loans worth $80 million from Exodus upon signing the agreement, and $10 million was personally given to Howat, who then stated that they did not need to repay these loans, according to the lawsuit.
“Defendants Garth Howat and W3C are engaged in a brazen, reckless and inappropriate campaign to avoid 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 steal millions of dollars from one of their own subsidiaries. They have falsely dated documents filed with government authorities. They have sought to summarily fire entire boards of directors, as well as the CEO and CFO of their key operating entity, and replace them with lackeys of their choosing, even though the binding agreement prevents them from doing so,” he said.
Howat did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
W3C companies Baanx and Monovate were behind the Crypto Life digital asset card business that ran companies like Mastercard and MetaMask.
JP Richardson, CEO and co-founder of Exodus, commented: “We have a binding agreement with the W3C and expect it to be fully implemented. We are confident in the path forward and anticipate a quick resolution.”
