As a seasoned crypto investor with over a decade of experience navigating this dynamic and often unpredictable market, I find myself firmly standing behind Coinbase’s decision to delist Justin Sun-tied BiT Global’s wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC). The exchange has demonstrated its commitment to maintaining the integrity of its platform by carefully evaluating each asset listed on it.
Coinbase is not legally obligated to jeopardize the security of its platform by engaging in transactions with Justin Sun and his company, BiT Global, as stated in their communication.
Coinbase asked a U.S. court to deny BiT Global’s lawsuit in Northern California, which seeks $1 billion in relief and a temporary restraining order on wrapped Bitcoin’s (wBTC)’s delisting.
As a crypto investor, I found myself dismayed on December 13th when BiT Global, an entity connected with Justin Sun, took legal action against Coinbase for their intent to delist the wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) asset from their U.S.-based exchange. BiT Global argued that this delisting was illegal, posing irreparable harm to the token’s economic health, and questioned the justification behind such a decision, given that Coinbase has listed less serious cryptocurrencies, such as meme coins.
Additionally, initiating cbBTC was found to violate fair trade regulations and potentially establish a dominant monopoly of Coinbase within the Bitcoin token market.
As a researcher, I find myself disputing the applicability of California’s Unfair Competition Law in a recent case. On the other hand, DefiLlama has validated that cbBTC does not fall within the top 10 tokenized Bitcoin assets ranked by market capitalization.
In simple terms, Coinbase has the freedom to decide who they want to conduct business with, which means they don’t have to work with individuals or entities that may be considered questionable or high-risk. This is not about monopoly power; rather, it’s a choice made following thorough examination, and in this case, the potential risks associated with Mr. Sun were deemed unacceptable, leading to the decision to delist wBTC.
Coinbase response to BiT Global lawsuit
The court document filed on December 17 indicates that significant alterations in the management of wBTC, specifically Justin Sun’s dominance over the Bitcoin reserves, led Coinbase and other organizations to re-evaluate their backing for this asset.
The Securities and Exchange Commission accused Sun and three corporations he entirely owns of breaking federal laws. Furthermore, it’s said that the FBI initiated a probe into suspected money laundering activities linked to Sun. (Paraphrased for clarity and ease)
It appears that, as of now, neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any other authorities have brought charges against Sun, the creator of Tron (TRX), by a specific publication date or issued an arrest warrant.
According to Coinbase, their risk evaluations for wBTC, following standard practices for listing companies, have flagged concerns, mainly due to Sun’s participation. The exchange justified this move as a “common sense” precaution aimed at safeguarding its customers. It’s important to note that removing wBTC from the platform won’t affect the token’s general on-chain operations, which predominantly occur on other platforms.
It’s important to note that just because BiT was delisted from an exchange where fewer than 1% of wBTC transactions occur, it doesn’t mean BiT can prove any harm, let alone irreversible harm. This might explain why BiT waited nearly a month before filing the lawsuit, suggesting a lack of immediate necessity for relief.
The leading cryptocurrency figure in the U.S. has petitioned the California Court to reject BiT Global’s temporary restraining order (TRO) and its proposed $1 billion aid package. This action is based on BiT Global’s associations with a person under indictment and their alleged manipulation of the emergency situation concerning wBTC.
We’ve filed our response to BiT Global’s effort to stop our delisting of wBTC before any discovery or even formal response to their bogus claims. We lay out why this lawsuit lacks any semblance of merit and why their request for a TRO should be denied. You can read it all for…
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) December 17, 2024
Read More
- POL PREDICTION. POL cryptocurrency
- Crypto ETPs hit $44.5b in YTD inflows amid Bitcoin surge
- Hong Kong Treasury says crypto is not a ‘target asset’ for its Exchange Fund
- AI16Z PREDICTION. AI16Z cryptocurrency
- Li Haslett Chen to Leave Warner Bros. Discovery Board
- EXCLUSIVE: Alia Bhatt in talks with Dinesh Vijan for a supernatural horror thriller; Tentatively titled Chamunda
- Springfield man is convicted for using crypto to finance ISIS operations
- Crypto x AI makes up just 1% of crypto market cap, says analyst
- Blockaid new dashboard to track Web3 activity and threats
- PYTH PREDICTION. PYTH cryptocurrency
2024-12-18 02:34