30s Summary

Coinbase faces a $1bn lawsuit from BiT Global Digital which claims that the crypto exchange unfairly removed Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) in an alleged bid to promote its own Bitcoin-based token (cbBTC). BiT Global accuses Coinbase of attempting to monopolize the wrapped Bitcoin market in violation of the Sherman Act. Coinbase denies these allegations, asserting that it maintains high standards and delists any assets that fail to meet them. Despite this, BiT Global questions Coinbase’s decision to add memecoins while simultaneously questioning wBTC’s compliance.

Full Article

Coinbase, a popular crypto exchange, is in hot water after being slapped with a hefty $1 billion lawsuit. The reason? A company named BiT Global Digital believes that Coinbase behaved unfairly and damaged the crypto market when it chose to remove Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) in November.

BiT Global has suggested that Coinbase only removed wBTC to push its own Bitcoin-based token, known as Coinbase BTC (cbBTC). They raised this concern in a complaint filed on Dec. 13.

However, Coinbase isn’t taking this lying down. Their chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, is firmly standing by the company’s decisions. He says only assets that meet Coinbase’s high standards get to stay. If they don’t meet the standards, they won’t be listed.

But this incited some backlash from other figures in the crypto industry. Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, even called out Grewal on his stance. He took a screengrab of a statement from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong who said the company doesn’t favor any specific asset and believes in giving consumers a choice.

So, what’s the whole story behind the massive $1 billion lawsuit all about? Here’s the gist: BiT Global believes Coinbase is trying to monopolize the wrapped Bitcoin market in violation of the Sherman Act. They say that Coinbase made false claims about wBTC’s compliance to undermine it and steer the market towards cbBTC.

Coinbase, however, has refuted these claims, stating they stick to high standards and if an asset doesn’t meet them, it gets delisted. wBTC was said to have undisclosed failures which led to its removal back on Nov. 19.

But what’s also being questioned is why Coinbase seemed to have no problem adding memecoins for trading on its platform while, simultaneously, challenging wBTC’s compliance. These allegations come from none other than BiT Global’s own lawyers. The lawsuit is now with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.