With Coinbase’s wrapped Bitcoin cbBTC now live, the US-based cryptocurrency exchange has moved to delist Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) citing the need to maintain the platform’s integrity.
Coinbase will delist the asset on December 19, 2024, following a routine review to ensure it meets the exchange’s stringent listing standards.
According to Coinbase, trading of wBTC will be suspended across all Coinbase platforms, including Coinbase.com (both Simple and Advanced Trade), Coinbase Exchange, and Coinbase Prime, at approximately 12 PM ET on the designated date.
However, Coinbase reassures users that their wBTC funds will remain secure and accessible. Customers will retain the ability to withdraw their holdings at any time.
In preparation for the delisting, Coinbase has transitioned its wBTC order books to limit-only mode. While limit orders can still be placed, canceled, and matched, no new trading activity beyond these parameters will be supported.
Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) is a cryptocurrency that represents Bitcoin (BTC) on the Ethereum blockchain. It is an ERC-20 token, adhering to Ethereum’s technical standards, which makes it compatible with the wide range of decentralized applications (dApps) in the Ethereum ecosystem.
Each wBTC token is backed 1:1 by Bitcoin, meaning that for every wBTC in circulation, there is an equivalent amount of Bitcoin held in reserve by a custodian. This setup ensures that the value of wBTC mirrors that of Bitcoin.
The primary purpose of wBTC is to enable Bitcoin holders to interact with Ethereum-based decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
Normally, Bitcoin exists on its own blockchain and cannot directly interact with Ethereum’s smart contracts. wBTC bridges this gap, allowing Bitcoin liquidity to flow into Ethereum’s ecosystem, where users can lend, borrow, trade, or stake their assets in DeFi platforms.
One of the significant advantages of wBTC is that it brings the liquidity of Bitcoin into Ethereum’s ecosystem, empowering Bitcoin holders to engage with DeFi protocols without selling their Bitcoin. Transactions involving wBTC are also faster compared to Bitcoin’s blockchain due to Ethereum’s shorter block times.
Coinbase began supporting Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) on March 30, 2020, as part of its efforts to offer users access to decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens. wBTC, an ERC-20 token backed 1:1 by Bitcoin, enables Bitcoin holders to participate in Ethereum-based DeFi applications while leveraging the liquidity of Bitcoin.
At the time, Coinbase listed wBTC across its trading platforms to accommodate the growing demand for cross-chain assets and bolster its DeFi offerings.
However, the delisting comes at a time when Coinbase has launched its own ERC-20-wrapped Bitcoin, which is now also live on Solana.
