Coinbase announced it will cease support for Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) on December 19, 2024, across all its platforms, including Coinbase.com, Coinbase Exchange, and Coinbase Prime.
Specific reasons for the delisting were not disclosed. However, Coinbase stated that this decision was based on the 'latest assessment,' indicating that WBTC may no longer meet the exchange's listing standards.
The exchange has also switched the WBTC order books to limit-only mode, allowing users to place and cancel limit orders. Users will still have access to their WBTC balances and can withdraw funds after being delisted.
The delisting of WBTC comes after Coinbase launched its own Wrapped Bitcoin token, Coinbase Wrapped BTC (cbBTC), in September. CbBTC is an ERC-20 token backed 1:1 by Bitcoin held in custody by Coinbase, aimed at providing users with a reliable and better-integrated option for accessing decentralized applications (dApps).
CbBTC currently has a market capitalization of $1.3 billion as of November 19, with a circulating supply of 15,070 tokens, of which 82% are on Base, 16% on Ethereum, and the remainder on Solana.
Launched through a collaboration between BitGo, Kyber Network, and Ren, WBTC allows Bitcoin investors to participate in various DeFi protocols on Ethereum. Currently, WBTC is the most widely used Wrapped Bitcoin token in the DeFi space, but cbBTC may soon challenge this dominance.
