The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has cleared a path for regulated access to global crypto derivatives, enabling Coinbase and other CFTC-registered exchanges to connect U.S. clients to offshore liquidity in products such as options and perpetual futures. Coinbase said its Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) unit is now onboarding institutions, with broader access to follow.
Coinbase Becomes First U.S.-Regulated FCM to Offer Access
Coinbase announced that its subsidiary, Coinbase Financial Markets (CFM), is the first U.S.-regulated FCM to provide domestic clients with access to global crypto derivatives markets. According to the company, derivatives represent roughly 80% of global crypto trading volume, driven by options, perpetual futures, and related instruments primarily traded on non-U.S. venues.
CFM is opening onboarding for institutional clients with live access to Deribit, which holds more than $31 billion in open interest for Bitcoin (BTC) options. Coinbase said perpetual futures and additional collateral types will follow, with plans to extend access to a broader client base, including retail, over time.
“Guidance issued by the CFTC positions Coinbase Financial Markets as the first CFTC-regulated FCM to connect U.S. clients to global crypto options and perpetual futures liquidity,” the company said, adding that clients will have a regulated, compliant solution without offshore workarounds.
CFTC Guidance Defines Pathway via Foreign Futures
The move follows a Friday statement from the CFTC’s Market Participants Division (MPD) confirming that certain crypto asset perpetual contracts “may be categorized as foreign futures” under Commission Regulation 30.1. In a separate no‑action letter, the MPD said it would not recommend enforcement against an FCM for posting customer-owned digital commodities and payment stablecoins as margin with a foreign broker affiliate—under specified conditions, including where the foreign broker has a right of re-use over those assets.
Classifying qualifying crypto perpetuals as foreign futures and outlining conditions for margining customer digital assets with foreign affiliates provides a regulatory framework for U.S.-regulated intermediaries to access offshore liquidity while maintaining CFTC oversight of the FCM.
Additional CFTC Action: Kalshi BTCPERP Approval
Separately, the CFTC issued an order approving Kalshi to list the BTCPERP contract—a perpetual contract referencing the spot price of Bitcoin—as a futures contract. The listing marks an expansion of Kalshi’s product set beyond its event contracts.
Why It Matters
- For U.S. institutions, the guidance offers a regulated avenue to access the bulk of global crypto liquidity without establishing offshore entities or taking on additional counterparty and infrastructure risks.
- For market structure, it brings elements of offshore crypto derivatives onshore through CFTC-regulated intermediaries, with customer protections and compliance obligations.
- For product breadth, immediate access to options via Deribit is live for institutions, with perpetual futures and broader client eligibility expected to follow.