Coinbase drops wBTC, Here’s why

Coinbase, the US’s biggest crypto exchange, announced that it would suspend trading for Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) on December 19. The exchange cited regular reviews to ensure listing standards are met. It comes in line with Justin Sun’s gaining influence over the wBTC protocol after BitGo partnered with BiT Global in a joint venture.

This marks a massive delisting move for the largest tokenized digital asset. Launched back in 2019, wBTC tokenizes BTC on Ethereum and other blockchains. It allows Bitcoin to interact with DeFi ecosystems. It’s backed 1:1 by Bitcoin and stands strong among top cryptos with a market cap of more than $13.4 billion.

Coinbase to end trading by Dec 19

In an X post, Coinbase mentioned that they regularly monitor listed assets to ensure they align with listing standards. As per their most recent review, the platform would need to halt trading for wBTC. It added that trading would be suspended on both the Coinbase Exchange and Coinbase Prime including simple and advanced trade.

The exchange informed that users’ wBTC funds will remain accessible and they will have the ability to withdraw their funds at any time. It has moved the wBTC order books to limit-only mode. It added that the limit orders can be placed and canceled, and matches might occur.

Backed with Bitcoin’s price, wBTC is trading at an average price of $92,223 at press time. Its 24-hour trading volume is up by 2% to stand at $494 million. BTC recently recorded an ATH of $94,002.

Coinbase pushing back against Justin Sun?

The tokenized world has been watching brewing disputations since August. It began when BitGo partnered with Justin Sun and BiT Global to manage wrapped BTC custody. This move sparked industry debates and competition.

However, Coinbase and Kraken had launched tokenized Bitcoin rivals, while Threshold Network proposed an unsuccessful bid to acquire wBTC. Sun’s involvement in the matter has drawn widespread concern. He had criticized Coinbase’s cbBTC for lacking a proof-of-reserves process. Ironically, Sun’s Poloniex and its BTC-on-Tron token haven’t completed proof-of-reserves either. It can be seen as a clash between Coinbase and Sun.

Whale dumps wBTC

Spot On Chain reported that a whale sold over 562.2 wrapped Bitcoin for $52.3 million near BTC’s all time high. The whale wallet had locked in a $6.83 million profit in just 9 days. The same trader has made two trades since September 30 and knocked a cumulative profit of $15.69 million.

A smart whale sold 562.2 $WBTC for $52.3M near #Bitcoin’s new ATH 7 hours ago, locking in a $6.83M profit in just 9 days!

Since Sep 30, this whale has traded $WBTC twice, earning a total profit of $15.69M (+18.7%) across both trades! 👇

Follow @spotonchain and set alerts to see… pic.twitter.com/L01XDAK5oz

— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) November 20, 2024

The whale sold 619 wBTC (approx. worth $46.5 million) at $75,029 from November 6 to November 8 and made a profit of $8.85 million. Data shows that the whale might have sold too early as BTC broke the $80,000 price level at that time. To make a recovery, the same whale bought 562 wrapped Bitcoin back at $80,895 to sell them now.

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