Coinbase Fights Back Against BiT Global Lawsuit Over WBTC Delisting

Coinbase has issued a rebuttal to a lawsuit by BiT International, a Justin Solar-affiliated entity, difficult the change’s choice to delist Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC).

Paul Grewal, the agency’s Chief Authorized Officer, announced the submitting on X, saying that his firm had provided its response to BiT International’s effort to cease the delisting of WBTC earlier than any discovery or formal response to their claims, which he described as bogus.

Coinbases’ Defence

Within the submission shared by Grewal, Coinbase defended its actions, stating that BiT International didn’t make clear its possession construction or tackle considerations about TRON founder Justin Solar’s involvement. The change argued that his potential affect posed vital dangers to clients in addition to the platform’s integrity.

“BiT seeks to drive Coinbase to do enterprise with an entity that now not complies with Coinbase’s requirements because of Mr. Solar’s ‘materials involvement,” learn the doc.

It additionally highlighted that BiT International delayed submitting its lawsuit and movement for a brief restraining order for almost a month, due to this fact undermining any claims of pressing hurt.

The San Francisco-based change additionally dismissed accusations of economic and reputational injury as speculative, noting that WBTC constitutes lower than 1% of its transaction quantity. It additionally argued that any lack of confidence within the product got here from its affiliation with Solar somewhat than the delisting choice.

Total, the crypto platform defended its motion as a lawful train of enterprise judgment to guard itself and its clients, citing courtroom precedents supporting the rights of tech operations to set their very own requirements.  Moreover, it denied BiT International’s authorized accusations as baseless and urged the courtroom to disclaim emergency aid.

Backlash and Considerations Over Solar’s Involvement

In November, Coinbase introduced its choice to delist WBTC on December 19, attributing its choice to worries over the asset’s affiliation with Solar. This transfer brought on main backlash, with many within the crypto group accusing the agency of favoring its personal tokenized Bitcoin product, cbBTC.

In response, BiT International filed a lawsuit on December 13, accusing the change of partaking in monopolistic habits, utilizing predatory techniques to undermine WBTC’s market place, and making false statements concerning the token’s compliance with itemizing requirements.

The TRON founder additionally fired again by criticizing the competitor’s providing. He claimed it lacks proof-of-reserve, has not been audited, and will enable the change to freeze person balances, due to this fact posing safety dangers to decentralized finance (DeFi).

Coinbase, nonetheless, countered this by declaring Solar’s historical past of allegations of economic misconduct, together with assertions of fraud and market manipulation. The most recent courtroom submitting identified that the 34-year-old has been sued by the U.S. Securities and Trade Fee (SEC) and is reportedly below investigation by a number of legislation enforcers.