Coinbase Successfully Fends Off Restraining Order Sought by BiT Global as Court Rules in Favor of Delisting Wrapped Bitcoin

The Hong Kong-based company BiT Global is allegedly tied to crypto entrepreneur and Tron founder Justin Sun, who had sought the order to prohibit Coinbase

A California court has dismissed a request from BiT Global to obtain a restraining order against cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase over its decision to delist Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC). The court's ruling permits Coinbase to proceed with its plan to delist the token on December 19.

BiT Global, which is reportedly linked to crypto entrepreneur and Tron founder Justin Sun, had sought the order to halt Coinbase from removing wBTC from its platform. The company alleged that the exchange’s decision would inflict “irreparable” damage to its business.

However, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled that self-inflicted wounds are not irreparable injury, suggesting that BiT Global's purported injury stemmed from its own actions and decisions and was not caused by Coinbase.

Coinbase announced on November 19 that it would be delisting wBTC from its platform on December 19. The decision came as a result of Coinbase’s regular review process, which BiT Global alleged was biased.

The company subsequently filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, alleging violations of competition laws and libel. BiT Global claimed that the exchange damaged wBTC’s reputation by promoting its own tokenized Bitcoin product, cbBTC. Coinbase's legal counsel described the suit as frivolous and suggested that sanctions could be imposed against both BiT Global and its counsel. They pointed out a failure of evidence to support claims that Coinbase's actions had caused users to abandon wBTC.

Coinbase, being a private company, defended its decision and mentioned that they have the right to decide whether to list or delist a token. A spokesman for the exchange rejected the allegations, saying that they have the right to decide whether to list or delist a token. The company further denied accusations of monopolistic behavior, saying it represented less than one percent of all wBTC trading activity. cbBTC, on the other hand, has taken off since its September launch, with a market cap exceeding $2.11 billion.

BiT Global also asserted that Justin Sun, the firm's adviser, had been wrongly accused in the scandal. However, Coinbase pointed to Sun's previous accusations of financial misconduct and argued that his distancing from wBTC was a strategic decision.