Tron founder Justin Sun has declared that Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) has effectively become the United States’ national Bitcoin reserve.
The statement comes amid an inadvertent feud between two Bitcoin wrappers- Bitgo’s WBTC and Coinbase’s cbBTC, with Donald Trump’s DeFi project expressing a vested interest in the former.
Is WBTC the De Facto US National Bitcoin Reserve?
The Tron founder took to social media to explain his perspective, articulating the favor WBTC continues to enjoy from Donald Trump-backed DeFi project, World Liberty Financial (WLFI).
“WBTC has become the US national Bitcoin reserve in name. Is there any president other than Donald Trump who diligently buys Bitcoin daily? Trump is ‘the one and only Bitcoin president,’” Sun wrote.
Sun’s comments draw from a recent purchase by World Liberty Financial, which is highly endorsed by the Trump family. Lookonchain reported that the DeFi project acquired an additional 94.94 WBTC valued at $9.84 million on Thursday.
SpotOnChain corroborated, adding that in three days, the fund had invested $56.82 million in 534.1 WBTC at an average price of $106,379.
“The Trump team has chosen WBTC and decided to support it through action once again,” Wrapped Bitcoin’s official X account quipped.
In December, the DeFi venture cleared its cbBTC portfolio of 102.9 tokens worth $10.4 million to acquire 103.15 WBTC. The following day, Sun was named an advisor to WLFI. This highlights Sun’s growing interest in the DeFi project and the growing relationship between WLFI and WBTC.
Drawing references to these shows of preference, Justin Sun took a jab against Coinbase, citing its lack of transparency and specifically targeting its Proof of Reserves (PoR) practices. He also referred to the crypto adage, “Not your keys, not your coins!”
“Relying on Coinbase’s zero Proof of Reserves product means your BTC could be frozen or confiscated anytime. It’s entirely at the mercy of Paul Grewal [Coinbase CLO]. If he likes you, you’re safe. But if he doesn’t? Game over. That’s not how a secure blockchain infrastructure should operate—especially at the presidential level. So cbBTC was out,” Sun explained.
The Tron founder continues to emerge as a vocal advocate of WBTC, particularly after BitGo’s custody overhaul.
Its new multi-jurisdictional and multi-institutional custody model emphasizes security through decentralization, which, according to Sun, is a stark contrast to Coinbase’s approach. This fuels Sun’s criticism of cbBTC.
“cbBTC lacks Proof of Reserve, no audits, and can freeze anyone’s balance anytime. Essentially, it is just ‘trust me.’ Any US government subpoena could seize all your BTC,” Sun wrote last September.
Overall, Coinbase’s cbBTC and BitGo’s WBTC have since grown to be market rivals over the past several months. Coinbase’s recent suspension of WBTC trading has only intensified competition.
The exchange now faces a lawsuit alleging anti-competitive practices regarding WBTC.
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