Coinbase Seeks Clarity on Equity Perpetuals with SEC-CFTC Proposal

Coinbase has made its most ambitious regulatory play yet by proposing an equity perpetual framework to the SEC and CFTC. The exchange submitted a comment letter on August 24-25, arguing that equity perpetual derivatives should be classified as 'security futures' under the Commodity Exchange Act.

This classification would allow Coinbase's already-registered derivatives arm to offer these products through a streamlined notice registration with the SEC. By doing so, the exchange aims to cut through years of jurisdictional ambiguity and bring clarity to the regulatory landscape.

Coinbase's proposed framework would enable CFTC-registered designated contract markets to list equity perpetuals via notice registration with the SEC, while national securities exchanges could do the reverse by registering with the CFTC. This approach maintains oversight for both regulators without requiring new rules from scratch.