Coinbase Global Inc. appears likely to sidestep a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit filed by BiT Global Digital Ltd., as a California federal judge indicated on Thursday that the claims may not meet legal thresholds for plausibility.
During a hearing held in San Francisco, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguin expressed her inclination to grant Coinbase’s motion to dismiss the case. The lawsuit alleges that Coinbase engaged in anti-competitive behavior by delisting BiT Global’s wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) product shortly after launching its own competing version.
At the core of the complaint is BiT Global’s assertion that Coinbase’s stated justification for the delisting—internal risk concerns, particularly involving alleged associations with Tron founder Justin Sun—was a false pretext to cover anti-competitive motives. However, Judge Martínez-Olguin stated, “At this point, based on the statements themselves, I’m not convinced they are [false].”
While the court has not yet issued a final ruling, Coinbase may avoid BiT Global’s $1B antitrust suit for now, pending the judge’s decision. Judge Martínez-Olguin did leave the door open for BiT Global to amend its complaint and provide stronger evidence that Coinbase’s actions were rooted in falsehoods or misleading implications.
“Even just from temporal proximity, it suggests there could be other motivations behind this,” said Kevin Kneupper of Kneupper & Covey PC, representing BiT Global. He argued that Coinbase’s delisting announcement, which followed the launch of its own wrapped Bitcoin product in late 2024, presents a suspicious timeline.
Coinbase, represented by Sonal Mehta of WilmerHale, countered that BiT Global’s allegations fail to exclude reasonable alternative explanations—such as Coinbase’s concerns over the wBTC project’s association with Sun, who was sued by the SEC in 2023.
“The obvious alternative explanation is that Coinbase acted out of legitimate concern regarding project governance,” said Mehta. She also noted that speculative claims and implied falsehoods do not rise to the level of actionable antitrust or Lanham Act violations.
BiT Global originally filed suit in December 2024, asserting claims under the Sherman Act, the Lanham Act, California’s Unfair Competition Law, and others. The company also sought a temporary restraining order to prevent Coinbase from delisting wBTC, which was denied by the court in December due to lack of evidence of irreparable harm.
As it stands, Coinbase may avoid BiT Global’s $1B antitrust suit unless the plaintiff can substantiate its claims with new, compelling evidence in an amended complaint.
