Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has praised the leadership of the SEC and CFTC for resolving long-standing regulatory disputes that have hindered the launch of equity perpetual futures in the U.S. Armstrong stated that his company has been working for years to bring equity traders to the U.S. in a regulated manner. He also hinted at the potential return of Coinbase Pro, the exchange's original professional trading platform, which was shut down in 2022.
Armstrong's comments came after Coinbase requested the CFTC to approve perpetual futures on individual U.S. stocks in September. These derivatives, known as perps, are linked to an asset's price without an expiry date. Armstrong emphasized that these products already trade outside the U.S., and the question now is whether America will embrace them or fall behind.
The regulatory landscape remains contentious, as the Capital Markets Alliance Association has sued the CFTC to overturn its approval of single-stock perps. The group, which includes Cboe and Citadel Securities, argues that the contracts should fall under the SEC's jurisdiction. However, a federal judge recently denied their request for a temporary restraining order, indicating that the group may prevail in its argument.
Despite the legal challenges, Armstrong expressed optimism about the future of tokenized stocks on Base, which have seen over $5 billion in trading volume. He also highlighted his bullish stance on agentic finance, where AI agents conduct financial transactions. Meanwhile, Coinbase's stock (COIN) was down over 1% in overnight trading, following a 2% decline on Friday.