The price of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) on Binance experienced a brief decline, dropping to around $5,200, a new all-time low. Meanwhile, the original BTC price on the Bitcoin network continued to trade at $98,000. Here are the details…
Wrapped Bitcoin Price Drops Rapidly to $5,200 on Binance
The price of Wrapped Bitcoin on Binance unexpectedly dropped sharply to $5,200 on November 23, 2024. However, this crash did not affect the value of Wrapped Bitcoin on other exchanges. WBTC was trading at around $98,000 a short time ago. The price drop was caused by an electronic error in the trading system, and the value of WBTC quickly recovered with the daily candle closing at around $97,000. As of now, the price has returned to normal levels.
The sudden drop in Wrapped Bitcoin may be related to Coinbase’s announcement on November 19. The price change occurred shortly after the exchange announced its plan to delist WBTC as of December 19, 2024. Coinbase had announced to its users that WBTC trading would be suspended. The sudden crash of the WBTC price on Binance can be clearly observed in the chart above.
Coinbase announced the decision to delist WBTC, stating that the exchange continuously monitors assets for compliance with listing standards. However, the company also emphasized that WBTC funds will be accessible for withdrawals. BiT Global claimed that Coinbase’s move was an effort to highlight its own tokenized Bitcoin product, cbBTC. A BiT Global spokesperson said that Coinbase’s decision was a move to gain its own advantage by eliminating its competitor WBTC.
In September 2024, Coinbase launched its new altcoin cbBTC. This was done in response to the controversy over the multi-jurisdictional oversight of Wrapped Bitcoin. It is known that the custody structure of WBTC is shared between the United States, Hong Kong, and Singapore. There were concerns in the crypto community about the involvement of Tron founder Justin Sun in the new custody arrangement. This drew the ire of the former Maker community known as Sky, who voted not to use WBTC as trading collateral.
