The Commodity Futures Trading Commission granted Coinbase approval to offer U.S. customers access to the global crypto perpetual futures market, marking a pivotal shift in domestic crypto regulation.
Coinbase will provide access through Deribit, an offshore crypto exchange it acquired for $2.9 billion last year. Perpetual futures are high-risk derivatives with no expiration date that allow traders to place leveraged bets on crypto asset prices.
The CFTC issued a no-action letter, a guarantee not to sue, after Coinbase requested the assurance Thursday. The regulator outlined a new policy permitting Coinbase to offer all "digital commodity" perpetual futures traded on Deribit, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Dogecoin, and the TRUMP meme coin.
Coinbase has not yet decided which specific assets to offer, but will select those deemed "fit for purpose" for U.S. customers.
While lucrative-over $588 billion in crypto perps trading volume occurred in the last month alone-the products carry immense risk. Rapid price swings can liquidate leveraged positions, as seen last fall when $19 billion was wiped out in minutes.
The CFTC also approved Kalshi to create its own Bitcoin perpetual futures, the first such American-born product. Other U.S. exchanges are expected to quickly follow Coinbase's lead.