Bit Global, a crypto custody company linked to entrepreneur Justin Sun, voluntarily dismissed a lawsuit against Coinbase over the listing of wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC).
The move concludes a months-long legal dispute that spotlighted the growing tension between central exchange and token custodians, as control of key infrastructure is increasingly contested.
The joint provision of dismissal, filed June 6th in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, ends the lawsuit on bias and prevents it from being reconsidered.
The parties agreed to cover their legal costs and did not disclose the terms of the settlement, if any.
Disputes over changes in custody
BIT Global first filed a lawsuit in December, weeks after Coinbase announced that WBTC would be delisted from the platform. The exchange said the token no longer meets the listing criteria, citing concerns about governance and risk.
A few days ago, Bitgo, the leading custodian of WBTC, revealed a new partnership with BIT Global, diversifying Bitcoin reserve holdings for tokens outside the US.
BIT Global is set up to act as a councillor, with the reserve moving partially to Hong Kong. The move sparked criticism of the crypto industry due to its known connection with the Sun, which was facing US regulatory investigations at the time.
Coinbase argued that allowing WBTC to fall under solar-related control poses an “unacceptable risk” to user security and market integrity.
Bit Global claimed that Coinbase’s rationale concealed conflicts of interest. The lawsuit accused WBTC, a competing product using subscribers of supporting its own wrapped Bitcoin token, CBBTC.
The company described the withdrawal as a “cash grab” designed to boost CBBTC’s market share by watching its main rivals by watching its main rivals.
Legal retreat preceded the withdrawal
The case was hit hard in March when Judge Alaselli Martinez Holguin denied Bit Global’s motion for an interim injunction and determined that the company had not shown any impending harm from the abolition.
By May, during hearing, judges signaled that they tended to allow Coinbase claims to completely dismiss the case, citing the lack of legal basis.
As the court has leaned heavily towards Coinbase’s favor, Bit Global has chosen to withdraw the case before a formal judgment is issued. The company did not provide public explanations about the withdrawal and did not respond to media inquiries.
Coinbase has reaffirmed its post-dismissal attitude in some of its cases. Paul Grewal, the exchange’s chief legal officer, said in a June 9 social media post.
“We don’t have plans for a relist WBTC.”
The case highlighted how custody decisions and token listing policies are at a flashpoint in an industry that still lacks controllable regulatory oversight. WBTC remains the dominant wrap Bitcoin token by market capitalization, but Coinbase’s CBBTC has grown rapidly since its launch.
