Summary: Just days after Coinbase stated that it was delisting Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) owing to liquidity issues, the price of WBTC fell to $5,209 on Binance before rising to $98,000.
Sparks of Uncertainty in a Flash Crash
BitGo’s WBTC saw a precipitous 95% drop on Binance on November 23; in less than an hour, it went from $98,500 to $5,209. The cause is currently unknown, and neither BitGo nor the WBTC team have provided an explanation. This comes after Coinbase said that it would delist WBTC on December 19 due to liquidity issues.
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Growing Competition in Wrapped Bitcoin
Coinbase’s entry into the market with its competitor token, Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC), intensifies the competition for WBTC. Kraken has also launched its version, kBTC.
The delisting comes amid strained relations between Coinbase and Justin Sun, involved with WBTC via a BitGo joint venture. Sun has criticized Coinbase for failing to provide proof-of-reserves for cbBTC.
WBTC’s Role in DeFi
WBTC, which was introduced in 2019, tokenizes Bitcoin in order to facilitate liquidity in systems that use decentralized finance (DeFi). Its market capitalization is close to $14 billion, and it is correlated 1:1 with Bitcoin.
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