Coinbase gains US clearing approval, but stock perpetual futures remain pending

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) registered Coinbase Clearing LLC as a derivatives clearing organization on Sept. 28. The registration authorizes Coinbase Clearing to clear fully collateralized futures, options on futures and swaps, a function Coinbase previously handled through outside clearing partners. Coinbase now operates across three layers of the regulated US derivatives market: Coinbase Financial Markets is a futures commission merchant, Coinbase Derivatives is a designated contract market, and Coinbase Clearing is a registered clearinghouse. Coinbase said the structure gives it end-to-end infrastructure for bringing regulated products to market. The new clearinghouse can directly create and settle fully collateralized contracts. Coinbase promotes USDC collateral and around-the-clock settlement as advantages for products designed for always-on markets. Owning the clearinghouse could shorten product-development cycles and reduce reliance on third parties for eligible contracts. Coinbase said it expects more efficient operations and greater flexibility to introduce regulated derivatives over time. However, Coinbase said it will continue using existing partners for parts of its margined derivatives business and its planned single-stock perpetual futures. The stock perpetuals remain under separate regulatory review despite the clearinghouse approval. The CFTC's product record listed Coinbase Derivatives' Single Stock Perpetual Futures Contract as "Approval Pending" on Sept. 30. Coinbase Derivatives filed the proposal on Sept. 18 and said it intended to list the contracts shortly after approval, subject to additional regulatory requirements. The filing proposes cash-settled perpetual futures tied to individual US equities and exchange-traded funds, with Apple as the representative contract. The proposed contracts have no fixed expiration and use periodic funding payments to keep their prices aligned with the underlying shares. The representative Apple contract names Nodal Clear LLC, not Coinbase Clearing, as its central counterparty. Its proposed trading window runs from 8 p.m. Eastern on Sunday through 5 p.m. Friday. Coinbase describes its new clearing infrastructure as capable of 24/7 settlement. Approval of the stock perpetuals would allow Coinbase to expand into equity-linked derivatives, initially using clearing infrastructure it does not fully control.