BiT Global’s lawyers said that the delisting of wBTC was to promote Coinbase’s own rival project, the cbBTC token. This is about wrapped Bitcoin from the largest American crypto exchange, whose value corresponds to the rate of BTC and is secured by these coins, but the token itself can be used in the networks of Efirium, Base and Solan.

According to the plaintiff, this move has resulted in significant financial losses to the niche and undermined user confidence in the wBTC token. The lawsuit alleges attempted monopolisation of the market, use of hostile practices to undermine wBTC’s position and false statements that wBTC allegedly does not meet listing standards.

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What the Coinbase exchange is being accused of

Coinbase General Counsel Paul Grewal responded to the criticism against the company by emphasising its commitment to high standards in conducting the listing process. Here is his statement, posted on Twitter.

When an asset no longer meets our listing standards, we remove it. If another asset can meet or exceed market requirements without sacrificing standards, we will add it.

Coinbase general counsel Paul Grewal

The lawsuit was filed four months after Coinbase first mentioned the development of cbBTC. The product is seen as a milestone in the development of the decentralised finance sector (DeFi) and the Bitcoin ecosystem as a whole (BTCFi).

According to Cointelegraph’s sources, Grewal’s words have not been too convincing to the community. Coinbase’s general counsel has faced criticism even from prominent industry figures, including Tron founder Justin Sun.

Here is his tweet on the matter.

Coinbase’s CEO doesn’t seem to agree with your opinion. So who in the company has the final say?

It's important to note that in August, BitGo announced a new joint venture with Justin San and BiT Global to manage the coins at the base of the wBTC token. That is essentially how they are protecting the interests of their own crypto asset that generates revenue for them.

Sun questioned the transparency of Coinbase’s actions, referring to the publication of Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong dated 28 June 2021. At that time, he stated that the exchange is supposedly “asset neutral” and in favour of consumer choice, well, the company’s goal is to list every available asset when it does not violate any laws.

Tron founder Justin Sun

In a statement to reporters, a Coinbase spokesperson reiterated the company’s commitment to high standards. Here’s the rejoinder.

Coinbase is committed to maintaining the high quality of our listing standards. If an asset ceases to meet these standards, it is delisted.

The exchange announced the delisting of the token on 19 November, citing undisclosed violations of listing standards. The lawsuit against Coinbase was filed by law firm Kneupper & Covey in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

BiT Global’s attorneys claim that Coinbase is adding various meme tokens for trading on its platform, while questioning wBTC’s compliance with listing standards shortly after issuing its own asset. That is as legal experts believe that the decision to abandon wBTC and the subsequent listing of memes that lack serious intrinsic value while generating large trading volumes may cause investors not to get involved with said crypto asset.

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In the meantime, a new spike in volatility is expected in the market – as Ben Simpson, founder and CEO of Collective Shift, claims. According to him, the plan to approve a national crypto reserve in the US is in a position to cause localised changes in the market. Here’s his comment.

I expect it to be quite volatile, especially if the strategic reserve is approved. Bitcoin will rise in value and then most likely return to previous levels.

Simpson believes that Bitcoin’s share of total cryptocurrency capitalisation will start to decline. He noted that the process of transferring capital into altcoins has already begun after the consolidation of the price of BTC around the mark of 100 thousand dollars. At the same time, today the first cryptocurrency for the first time in its history took the level of 106 thousand, which is a historical maximum at the moment.

Bitcoin Dominance Index

However, the beginning of the so-called altcoin season – that is, the active growth of coins with the exception of BTC – will also be difficult. The expert continues.

I think the volatility will be significant. I don’t expect an altcoin season right away.

Bitfinex analysts added that most altcoins still haven’t reached new all-time highs in terms of returns relative to Bitcoin. That is, BTC remains a profitable and competitive asset even in comparison with altcoins, which just makes investors actively get involved with it.

Here’s what analysts had to say on the situation.

We believe that even after the pullbacks, Bitcoin will continue to be part of the portfolios of large institutional investors, and interest in it will continue to grow.

Back at Bitfinex, they noted that with Bitcoin reaching a six-figure price and demand remaining strong, any upcoming corrections will be short-lived. That said, in retrospect, they may turn out to be a good buying opportunity for the major cryptocurrency.


The whole situation has turned out to be a showdown of sorts between the major players in the coin industry. One of them clearly decided to work on the popularity of their own token and got rid of a competitor to do so, while the second one didn't like it. And since the case eventually went to court, we can consider such a thing as a kind of evidence of the general development of the crypto sphere.


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