A federal judge has refused BiT Global’s request for a temporary restraining order, allowing Coinbase to remove Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) from its trading platform. Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California presided over the ruling during a virtual hearing on December 18.
BiT Global, associated with Tron founder Justin Sun, lodged a complaint against Coinbase, asserting that the delisting would result in significant financial losses for wBTC investors. However, the judge ruled that BiT Global failed to produce proof of “imminent irreparable harm” or show how the delisting would hurt the market.
On November 19, Coinbase stated its plan to suspend wBTC trading, citing worries about Justin Sun potentially gaining control of the asset. The exchange stated that Sun’s involvement posed an “unacceptable risk,” given his history of charges of fraud and market manipulation by US regulators.
BiT Global responded, claiming that Coinbase’s actions were part of a larger plan to promote its competitor-wrapped Bitcoin product, cbBTC. The firm accused Coinbase of unfair competition and aiming to monopolize the wrapped Bitcoin market.
Judge Martínez-Olguín dismissed BiT Global’s claims as speculative, citing the time between Coinbase’s announcement and the lawsuit filing, which weakened the case. Although she allowed for further legal challenges, she allowed Coinbase to move forward with the delisting, scheduled for December 19.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) uses Wrapped Bitcoin, a tokenized version of Bitcoin, to enable interaction between Bitcoin users and Ethereum-based apps. Despite BiT Global’s concerns, Coinbase upheld its authority to select the assets featured on its platform, highlighting that less than 1% of wBTC trade volume occurs on Coinbase.
