BiT Global has filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase over the suspension of WBTC tokens. BiT Global claimed $1 billion in damages for possible losses resulting from the delisting. The European division of Coinbase has announced that it will delist USDT and other stablecoins that are not compliant with MiCA law.
In a lawsuit filed on Friday, BiT Global, led by Tron founder Justin Sun, is facing a monopoly ban after the Coinbase exchange delisted its Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) token from its platform. It accused the company of violating the law and sought $1 billion in damages.
Coinbase receives $1 billion lawsuit from Justin Sun's BiT Global
BiT Global has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Coinbase, alleging that Coinbase wrongfully delisted Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) to promote a competing product, cbBTC. This comes just days after the token was suspended on all Coinbase platforms.
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is an ERC-20 token launched on the Ethereum blockchain in 2018. It is backed 1:1 by Bitcoin and allows users to leverage Bitcoin liquidity on Ethereum and other blockchain ecosystems.
The lawsuit, which was launched on Friday, alleges that Coinbase's reasons for delisting WBTC (tied to listing standards) are inconsistent with its recent approval of several meme coins.
BiT Global said WBTC's delisting was not due to listing criteria, but because Coinbase was “desperate for market share and wanted it for itself.”
They argued that this action violated antitrust laws and are seeking damages for the significant economic losses they suffered.
Coinbase announced in November that it would suspend WBTC trading on its platform on December 19, saying the decision was made after careful consideration. Prior to this announcement, WBTC had been trading on exchanges for years.
The WBTC team reacted sharply to the announcement from Coinbase, expressing displeasure at the sudden decision.
Meanwhile, Coinbase's European arm announced it would delist Tether's USDT and other stablecoins that it believes are not compliant with the Market for Cryptocurrencies (MiCA) regulations that govern European cryptocurrencies.
The exchange announced in a broadcast to European users on Wednesday that it would stop supporting six stablecoins, including PAX, PYUSD, GUSD, GYEN, DAI, and USDT.
Similarly, we will continue to support EUR Coin (EURC) and Circle's USDC, which are fully MiCA compliant.
