Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced it will cease trading Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) starting December 19.

We regularly monitor the assets on our exchange to ensure they meet our listing standards. Based on our most recent review, Coinbase will suspend trading for wBTC (wBTC) on December 19, 2024, on or around 12pm ET.
— Coinbase Assets 🛡️ (@CoinbaseAssets) November 19, 2024

In its statement, the company noted that the token no longer meets the platform’s listing standards, without specifying which requirements were violated.

Currently, WBTC trading has been halted, though users can still place limit orders. Coinbase confirmed that customers will be able to withdraw their tokens after the delisting is complete.

We regret and are surprised by Coinbase’s decision to delist WBTC. As the core team behind Wrapped BTC, we have always been committed to providing the community with the most compliant, transparent, and decentralized BTC tokenization product.

Over the years, WBTC has established…
— WBTC (@WrappedBTC) November 19, 2024

In response, the Wrapped BTC team expressed surprise and disappointment at the exchange’s decision, emphasizing that the project has consistently aimed to collaborate with platforms to ensure full legitimacy and compliance with regulatory standards. They urged Coinbase to reconsider its decision:

“We are disappointed and surprised by Coinbase’s decision to delist WBTC. […] We urge Coinbase to reconsider this decision and continue supporting WBTC trading.”

One possible reason for Coinbase’s decision to delist WBTC could be the transfer of the project’s Bitcoin reserve multisig wallet to partial control by BitGlobal, a company owned by Justin Sun. This move sparked calls to remove WBTC from the list of assets eligible for collateral use in the Sky ecosystem (formerly MakerDAO).

On September 12, Coinbase launched its own token, Coinbase Wrapped BTC (cbBTC), an ERC-20 representation of wrapped Bitcoin. This development raised concerns within the community about potential bias against WBTC and other wrapped assets.

Additionally, in October, Coinbase announced it would restrict trading access to certain stablecoins for users in the EU.