Coinbase Wins CFTC Approval for In-House Derivatives Clearinghouse

Coinbase has received approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to operate its own derivatives clearing organization, giving the cryptocurrency exchange additional control over the infrastructure supporting its regulated U.S. futures business.

The new clearing authorization extends Coinbase's regulated infrastructure beyond providing the venue where derivatives contracts are traded and moves the company toward a more vertically integrated structure in which trading and clearing can operate within the same broader corporate ecosystem.

Clearing is one of the most important pieces of financial-market infrastructure, collecting margin and maintaining resources intended to reduce the possibility that one participant's failure creates losses elsewhere in the market. Operating that infrastructure internally gives Coinbase greater control over how its derivatives products are collateralized, risk-managed, and settled.