Justin Sun calls out Coinbase’s leadership over wBTC delisting controversy

Justin Sun, founder of TRON, and Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, have been sparring on social media over the exchange’s asset listing standards. This comes in after BiT Global sued the US’s biggest crypto exchange over the delisting of wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) as it prepares to launch a competing product.

Coinbase announced on November 19 that it will delist wBTC starting December 19, 2024. The exchange has cited its “listing standards” in a periodic review, but the timing raised eyebrows.

Justin Sun strikes back at Coinbase CLO

Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal defended the decision to delist wBTC in a post, stating, “When an asset no longer meets our listing standards, we will drop it.” He thanked BiT Global for the chance to prove this in court and on the global crypto stage. However, he highlighted that when another asset meets or exceeds market requirements the exchange will list it.

Justin Sun replied to the statement, questioning Coinbase’s internal alignment. He shared Brian Armstrong’s post as a reminder of how the exchange lists assets. The Coinbase CEO had stated that its “goal is to list every asset where it is legal to do so.”

Armstrong mentioned that outside of the listing standards, the exchange doesn’t offer an opinion on the value of each asset. He added that Coinbase is asset agnostic as it believes in free markets and that consumers should have choice.

Sun slammed Coinbase’s CLO and stated it seems that Coinbase’s CEO doesn’t agree with Grewal’s perspective. He continued by posing the question, “Who has the final say at Coinbase?”

Paul Grewal replied that it seemed that Sun conveniently ignored that standards require safety and legality. He added that he is looking forward to the TRON founder’s deposition under oath in California.

Did Coinbase ask for too much?

This heated exchange is the latest episode in the rising tension in the ongoing legal wBTC battle . Sun’s influence on wBTC custody and Coinbase’s bold moves are setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time that Justin Sun has gone against Coinbase . Earlier, he made explosive claims about the exchange’s listing practices, alleging the exchange demanded 500 million TRX (approximately $80 million) and $250 million worth of Bitcoin deposits for a listing.

Those allegations sharply contrast with Armstrong’s statement that listing on the exchange is free. Armstrong even offered help to Moonrock Capital CEO Simon Dedic over similar concerns about high listing costs. Simon had shared that Binance allegedly asked a Tier 1 project for 15% of their token supply during due diligence. He said such practices make Tier 1 listings unaffordable, often leading to “bleeding charts.”

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