- Federal judge denied BiT Global’s request to stop Coinbase from delisting WBTC.
- Coinbase cited concerns over Justin Sun‘s influence as reason for delisting.
- WBTC’s trading volume on Coinbase represents less than 1% of total trading activity.
- BiT Global failed to demonstrate irreparable harm from the delisting decision.
- Coinbase’s own wrapped Bitcoin product (cbBTC) has reached $2.1 billion market cap.
Coinbase won a legal victory Wednesday as a federal judge rejected BiT Global’s attempt to prevent the cryptocurrency exchange from delisting Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC). U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled that BiT Global failed to demonstrate imminent and irreparable harm from the planned delisting.
Legal Battle Over WBTC Delisting
The dispute centers on Coinbase’s decision to remove WBTC, a $14 billion cryptocurrency product that allows Bitcoin to be used in decentralized finance applications. BiT Global, a Hong Kong-based custodian for WBTC reserves, filed the lawsuit claiming unfair business practices.
Coinbase defended its position by pointing to Justin Sun’s involvement with WBTC. Sun, who faces SEC allegations of fraud and market manipulation, serves as an advisor to BiT Global and provides significant financial support to WBTC’s custody structure.
Market Impact and Competition
WilmerHale Partner Sonal Mehta, representing Coinbase, emphasized that WBTC’s trading on the platform constitutes less than 1% of its total volume. Meanwhile, Coinbase’s alternative product, cbBTC, has accumulated a $2.1 billion market cap since its September launch, according to CoinGecko data.
The custody structure for WBTC involves:
- BitGo (US-based)
- BitGo Singapore
- BiT Global (Hong Kong-based)
Each entity holds one private key, with two required for minting or destroying WBTC tokens. This multi-jurisdictional approach was implemented following community feedback, though it has now become a point of contention in the ongoing market competition between wrapped Bitcoin products.
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