Coinbase Completes US Derivatives Stack, Single-Stock Perpetual Futures Still Pending

Coinbase has secured Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approval for its own derivatives clearinghouse, completing its vertically integrated US trading stack. The company now operates across three main layers of the regulated US derivatives market.

The CFTC registered Coinbase Clearing LLC as a derivatives clearing organization on Sept. 28, authorizing it to clear fully collateralized futures, options on futures, and swaps. This approval gives Coinbase control over a function that has previously depended on outside clearing partners.

Coinbase's new clearinghouse can directly create and settle fully collateralized contracts, with the company pitching USDC collateral and 24-hour settlement as advantages for products designed around always-on markets. The firm expects the clearinghouse to support more efficient operations and give it greater flexibility to introduce regulated derivatives over time.

However, one of Coinbase's most ambitious planned products will initially remain outside that integrated structure - its single-stock perpetual futures contracts. These contracts require a different clearing arrangement and are still under separate regulatory review.