Coinbase and BiT Global have quietly ended their legal fight over the delisting of wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) on Coinbase. In a joint court filing, both companies agreed to dismiss the case. BiT Global will dismiss its lawsuit with prejudice, meaning the case can’t be reopened in the future. Each side will pay its legal costs.
The conflict began last year when Coinbase removed wBTC from its platform. Coinbase said the token posed an “unacceptable risk” because of its connection to crypto billionaire Justin Sun. Sun became involved with wBTC through a partnership in August, and Coinbase grew concerned that the token could fall under his control.
BiT Global disagreed vigorously. The firm stated in its lawsuit that the delisting was unreasonable and harmed wBTC’s liquidity and reputation. They further noted that Coinbase had just introduced its own competing token, cbBTC, merely two months prior to dropping wBTC, which it alleged was a self-serving action.
Even BiT Global at some time asked for a temporary restraining order from the court to force Coinbase to restore the listing of wBTC. But Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin denied that request, siding with Coinbase’s decision to remove the token from its platform.
Even as the joint court filing affirmed the suit is over now, it did not give any other terms, except for the cost provision. With this, the two companies are now on their own way, but the lawsuit reveals how issues of competition and trust continue to be deep-rooted in the crypto market.
Clarification: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the lawsuit involving BiT Global was settled. We wish to clarify that the lawsuit was not settled; instead, it was dismissed with prejudice by BiT Global. There was no settlement reached. We apologize for this inaccuracy.
