Coinbase Plans to Delist wBTC

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On Tuesday, Coinbase announced its plans to halt trading of wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) starting next month. wBTC is the largest tokenized form of BTC available for purchase on Ethereum and other blockchains.

In a statement, Coinbase stated that they regularly review the assets listed on their exchange to ensure they meet their standards. As a result of their most recent review, trading for wBTC will be suspended on December 19, 2024 at 12pm ET.

However, users can still withdraw their wBTC tokens from the exchange even after it is delisted. Currently, wBTC orders have been switched to limit-only mode, meaning that users can still place and cancel orders, and matches may occur.

This move comes as Justin Sun, creator of TRON, gains more influence over the wBTC protocol through a joint venture between BitGo, the primary wBTC custodian, and BiTGlobal.

The purpose of wBTC, which was launched in January 2019, is to increase Bitcoin liquidity in the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem.