Coinbase debuted its offering of perpetual futures contracts in the US on July 21, starting with the contracts “nano Bitcoin Perpetual Futures” and “nano Ether Perpetual Futures (ETH-PERP).”

Coinbase Futures announced on X that the new listings will carry no monthly expirations, allow a margin of up to 10x, and charge taker fees as low as 0.02%. 

Traders access the instruments through Coinbase Financial Markets, the exchange’s registered futures commission merchant and designated contract market, rather than the Bermuda-based Coinbase International Exchange that opened last year. 

The structure essentially copies offshore perpetuals, which are cash-settled contracts that roll indefinitely, but follows US margin and clearing requirements.

Max Branzburg, head of consumer and business products, previewed the rollout on June 12, noting that derivatives account for approximately 75% of global crypto turnover. 

He reported that Coinbase International Exchange processed $5 billion in retail perpetual volume during May alone and added:

“We are not ready to let crypto derivatives trading be a non-US phenomenon.” 

Branzburg argued that bringing the instruments home gives domestic customers “the most powerful crypto trading product on the market … on the safest exchange.”

Furthermore, the move comes nearly two months after the exchange closed a $2.9 billion deal to buy Deribit, one of the largest crypto derivatives venues. 

CFTC-regulated perpetuals for US traders

Perpetual futures appeal to sophisticated traders who hedge spot exposure, arbitrage funding spreads, or seek higher notional leverage than spot borrowing permits. 

Notably, the perpetual market represents the largest portion of crypto trading. According to Coinglass data, Bitcoin’s monthly spot volume totaled $32.2 billion as of July 20, while its perpetual market reached nearly $313 billion during the same period, almost 10x larger.

Coinbase sets a maximum leverage of 10x, which is lower than the 20x to 50x ratios common on most offshore platforms.

Competing with international rivals

Major non-US venues, such as Binance, OKX, and Bybit, dominate crypto futures activity, each reporting tens of billions of dollars in daily trading volume. 

Coinbase seeks to capture share by marketing regulatory clarity and custody segregation to prop trading firms and high-net-worth individuals who previously routed orders abroad.

Branzburg said the firm will expand contract listings based on demand but plans to keep the leverage cap in place to preserve market integrity.

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