The California court has dismissed Bit Global’s request to issue a restraining order against Coinbase exchange to stop it from delisting the Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC). U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase announced last month that it will remove the WBTC from its trading list on Dec. 19.
Bit Global filed the lawsuit on Dec. 13 and urged that Coinbase’s decision to remove WBTC could result in financial losses for the crypto community. Moreover, the company alleged that Coinbase, with its sudden move to delist wBTC, violates multiple state financial laws implied to drive fair competition in the crypto market. Bit Global blamed the crypto exchange for removing WBTC to launch a rival tokenized form of Bitcoin known as cbBTC.
Coinbase wins after Judge rejects Bit Global’s allegations
While speaking in the virtual court hearing held on Dec. 18 in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín denied Bit Global’s request by stating its team has no solid evidence over its arguments that Coinbase delisting of WBTC can drive imminent ‘irreparable harm.’
While speaking to Bit Global’s attorney, the Judge stated:
Ultimately, I have no evidence from you about what is to come, I will not stop Coinbase from delisting WBTC.
She further continued by saying that Bit Global has provided no evidence on what will happen next, and its arguments were based on speculations instead of facts that could support its allegations. The Judge added that waits of weeks between the Coinbase announcement to delist WBTC and Bit Global filing a lawsuit has undermined the plaintiff’s arguments.
Justin Sun faced multiple allegations of financial misconduct
Coinbase decided to remove WBTC from its trading list months after the previous custodian of WBTC, BitGo, partnered with Bit Global to manage Wrapped Bitcoin’s $14 billion market cap, where Tron founder Justin Sun was appointed as an advisor.
Similarly, Coinbase urged in yesterday’s court hearing that Sun already has faced multiple allegations of financial misconduct, and the exchange cannot accept the risk of WBTC’s control falling into the wrong hands.
One of Coinbase’s representatives stated:
We’re a private company. We have the right to make decisions — even wrong decisions — about who should be on our platform or not..] The idea that we’re like a water or electrical company, a utility that you have a right to plug into is just bogus.
