As a seasoned analyst with years of experience in the dynamic world of cryptocurrencies, I find this lawsuit against Coinbase by Bit Global Digital over the delisting of Wrapped Bitcoin quite intriguing. The allegations of monopolistic practices and unfair competition are not unheard of in the tech industry, but it’s certainly unusual to see such accusations levied within the rapidly evolving digital currency space.
A prominent digital currency trading platform could potentially face bills totaling up to $1 billion as compensation for removing a cryptocurrency from its services.
Bit Global Digital, the entity responsible for Wrapped Bitcoin, has filed a lawsuit against Coinbase due to financial losses suffered following Coinbase’s decision to delist its cryptocurrency token.
Lawsuit Against Coinbase
Coinbase has been presented with a grievance by Bit Global Digital, alleging that they unjustly removed Wrapped Bitcoin from their platform to establish a competitive advantage in the Wrapped Bitcoin market.
In simpler terms, the entity responsible for issuing Wrapped Bitcoin stated that the delisting action caused approximately $1 billion in damages. They are now pursuing compensation from the cryptocurrency platform, claiming the sudden removal of the digital token was unfair.
Bit Global Digital accused Coinbase in a lawsuit at the US District Court, Northern District of California, stating eight instances of wrongdoing such as attempted monopoly, unjust competition, and trade slander. They alleged that Coinbase’s actions caused significant financial losses for their company, damaged the credibility of Wrapped BTC, and led consumers to lose trust in the token due to its tarnished reputation.
Launching Of Coinbase’s New Asset
Bit Global Digital accused Coinbase of removing Wrapped Bitcoin to eliminate competition for its new asset, cbBTC, saying that cbBTC is a product that is directly competitive with wBTC.
The crypto exchange platform launched cbBTC in September 2024 and has been introduced on Ethereum, Base, and Solana.
In their lawsuit, the issuer of Wrapped BTC stated that approximately two months following Coinbase’s introduction of the new asset, Coinbase declared on X date that they would halt support for Wrapped BTC within their platform. The claim is that this action by Coinbase served to remove a competitor from the platform and restrict market access to trading with wBTC, thereby limiting trading opportunities.
According to Bit Global Digital, Coinbase didn’t offer an explanation as to why they were removing the cryptocurrency from their platform. Moreover, Bit Global Digital stated that Coinbase did not allow them an opportunity to contest the removal of their crypto.
According to Bit Global Digital’s claim, Coinbase’s decision to remove wBTC appears to be an attempt to compel its users of public cryptocurrencies to utilize cbBTC instead. This action is perceived as exploitative and unjust competition, potentially breaching both federal and state laws.
WBTC Did Not Meet The Standards
On November 19th, Coinbase declared they would stop trading Wrapped Bitcoin on their platform by December 19th due to the token failing to meet their criteria for adding new listings.
“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.
Contrarily to Coinbase’s assertion, Bit Global Digital countered by stating that Coinbase has not openly disclosed why wBTC supposedly fails to meet their listing criteria.
When it came to introducing a product similar to wBTC, Coinbase allegedly employed underhanded and misleading strategies, much like those historically used by tech titans to suppress rival companies,” is one possible paraphrase of the original statement.
Currently, the value of Wrapped Bitcoin stands at approximately $101,355 per unit, while its total market capitalization exceeds $13 billion.
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2024-12-15 02:12