Coinbase users will be able to continue accessing their funds “at any time.”
The team behind Wrapped Bitcoin regretted Coinbase’s decision and urged it to reconsider.
Coinbase, the second exchange largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, announced that it will eliminate the token Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) from its asset list, as of December 19, 2024.
The users They will not be able to carry out new operations of purchase or sale of wBTC, a wrapped token, as of the date designated by the exchange United States.
Through an advertisement on the platform xfrom Coinbase Assets did not argue a specific reason, but rather pointed out that The decision was made after its last asset inspection.
“We monitor the assets on our exchange platform to ensure they meet our listing standards. “Based on our most recent review, Coinbase will suspend trading of wBTC.”
Coinbase Assets statement.
On the other hand, although the trading will be suspended, Coinbase Assets reported that users will be able continue accessing your funds of wBTC stored on Coinbase. You can also withdraw your wBTC at wallets external or “anytime” compatible exchanges.
However, also the publication of exchange clarified that wBTC trading will be available only under the “limit orders” option (order limit)” until the established date.
A limit order is a type of order in which the user specifies the exact price at which they wish to buy or sell an asset. This means that the order will only be executed if the market reaches that price or a better one.
He token wBTC (Wrapped Bitcoin) is a tokenized representation of Bitcoin (BTC) on the Ethereum (ETH) network, launched on the market in 2019, by a consortium made up of BitGo, Kyber Network and Ren public Protocol (formerly known as Republic Protocol).
Each wBTC is backed 1:1 by Bitcoin holdingssafeguarded in this case by Coinbase, which means that for every wBTC in circulation, there is one Bitcoin stored as a reserve.
This allows users to participate in the Ethereum ecosystem and its decentralized applications (DeFi) using an asset that is linked to the value of Bitcoin.
Coinbase’s decision generated responses from the companies behind wBTC
Following what was notified by Coinbase, Bit Global, a company that belongs to Justin Sun (creator of the Tron network) and that partnered with BitGo for the custody of WBTC, has expressed its discomfort for the removal of WBTC on Coinbase.
“Coinbase’s decision to delist wBTC, for no concrete reason beyond a vague “recent review,” goes against everything the cryptocurrency and DeFi industry stands for. “It is clear that Coinbase’s decision is an attempt to gain a competitive advantage, boosting its own wrapped Bitcoin product, cbBTC, and eliminating WBTC’s largest and most influential competitor.”
Bit Global post on X.
Additionally, the team behind Wrapped Bitcoin also made clear their opposite position to the removal of WBTC from Coinbase.
“We regret and are surprised by Coinbase’s decision to delist WBTC. Over the years, WBTC has established itself as the most decentralized and transparent Wrapped BTC product on the market through innovative mechanisms and rigorous governance. “We urge Coinbase to reconsider this decision and continue to support WBTC trading.”
Team behind Wrapped Bitcoin on X.
BitGo’s association with Bit Global generated controversy in the community, as reported by CriptoNoticias, given that in the past Sun was accused of fraud and manipulation schemes.
So much so that, due to BitGo’s alliance with the Sun company, the platform DeFiSky, formerly known as MarkerDAO, planned to remove the WBTC cryptocurrency as collateral for users to obtain loans. Then, after clarifications from BitGo CEO Mike Belshe, he backed down on his idea.
As Coinbase delists wBTC, it promotes its version of wrapped bitcoin
While the Coinbase post did not delve into details, it could be speculated that the decision was linked to boosting the tokencbBTC, the version of wrapped bitcoin that launched the exchange in August 2024 on the Base network, one of the most used second layer (L2) networks on Ethereum (created by Coinbase, but managed by the community).
In addition, to reinforce this hypothesis (which is just that, a hypothesis), on November 19, 2024, the same day that Coinbase announced its decision regarding wBTC, the exchange advertisement that he token cbBTC will be natively integrated into the Arbitrum networkthe largest L2 on Ethereum.
