Cryptocurrency Exchange Firm Coinbase Sued for $1B in Damages for Delisting Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)

The issuer of Wrapped Bitcoin, Bit Global Digital is suing crypto platform Coinbase for the losses incurred after the digital currency exchange removed its crypto token.

Crypto platform Coinbase is being sued by the issuer of Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) for allegedly causing losses of around $1 billion after the digital currency exchange delisted the crypto token.

On November 19, Coinbase announced that it would discontinue trading of wBTC on its exchange platform on December 19 for allegedly failing to meet the platform’s standards for listing tokens.

“We regularly monitor the assets on our exchange to ensure they meet our listing standards. Based on our most recent review, Coinbase will suspend trading for wBTC (wBTC) on Dec. 19, 2024, on or around 12 pm ET,” Coinbase said in an X post.

The crypto exchange did not elaborate on the standards that said cryptocurrency has failed to meet.

However, Bit Global Digital contradicted Coinbase’s claim, saying that “Coinbase has not publicly stated what listing standards wBTC does not meet.”

“Having decided to copycat wBTC with its own product, Coinbase resorted to unfair and deceptive tactics that long been used by tech giants to crush their competition,” the company argued in the complaint.

The complaint filed by Bit Global Digital at the US District Court, Northern District of California stated eight counts of violations which include attempted monopolization, unfair competition, and trade libel, among others.

The company said that Coinbase's actions led to huge financial losses for the company and tainted the reputation of wBTC, causing consumers to lose confidence in the token.

According to Bit Global Digital, Coinbase planned to launch its own version of a wrapped Bitcoin, prompting the crypto exchange platform to attempt to gain an upper hand on the wBTC market and eliminate competition for its new asset, cbBTC.

The crypto exchange launched cbBTC in September 2024, introducing the asset on Ethereum, Base, and Solana.

In its complaint, the wBTC issuer stated that two months after introducing the new asset, Coinbase announced on X that it would suspend wBTC in the platform, effectively weeding out its competitor from the platform and “depriving the market of the ability to trade wBTC.”

Bit Global Digital said that Coinbase did not provide any reasoning for delisting the crypto, adding that the crypto exchange failed to give them a chance to appeal the delisting.

“Coinbase’s plan to delist wBTC is clearly aimed to force its public cryptocurrency users who wish to use wrapped Bitcoin into using cbBTC which is predatory and unfair competition that violates both federal and state law,” Bit Global Digital stated in the complaint.

As of press time, wBTC is trading at $101,355 with a market capitalization of over $13 billion.