On Wednesday, World Liberty Financial, a company backed by the family of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, swapped approximately $10 million worth of Coinbase’s wrapped bitcoin (cbBTC) for WBTC, a rival token.
Wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) is a version of Bitcoin that is used on non-Bitcoin blockchains, particularly within decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Coinbase introduced cbBTC in September, but in November, the exchange announced plans to delist WBTC, citing its listing standards. This prompted BiT Global, a custodian involved in WBTC, to file a lawsuit seeking to prevent the delisting. However, the court ruled in favor of Coinbase on Wednesday.
In this context, Justin Sun, the founder of the Tron blockchain and one of CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2024, plays a role. Coinbase defended its actions by highlighting BiT Global’s ties to Sun, who has faced accusations of fraud and market manipulation in the U.S. (charges he denies). Sun, who has been involved with World Liberty Financial through a $30 million investment in exchange for WLFI tokens, also became an adviser to the platform.
Although World Liberty Financial has not publicly commented on its decision to swap the tokens, on-chain data indicates significant activity from the company in the market recently. The firm has acquired millions of dollars worth of tokens such as Aave (AAVE), Chainlink’s LINK, and Ethena’s ENA, all of which are connected to World Liberty Financial through various partnerships and integrations.
Sun’s involvement with WBTC is indirect. In August, BitGo, the original custodian of the bitcoin backing WBTC, announced that it would decentralize control of the project’s custody by distributing it across three entities, including BiT Global. BiT Global, which is registered as a Trust and Company Service Provider (TCSP) in Hong Kong, operates as a “strategic partnership” between BitGo, Justin Sun, and the Tron ecosystem.
Despite Sun’s connections, he does not have direct involvement with BiT Global’s ownership structure. According to Robert Liu, a board member of BiT Global, Sun’s participation is seen by some as beneficial for WBTC, given the success of the Tron blockchain, which holds more than 50% of the global market share. Liu notes that the Tron network’s high turnover rate makes it a trusted platform for stablecoin assets, with over $60 billion circulating on the Tron blockchain.
