Coinbase Just Unleashed CFTC-Regulated Perp Futures for US Traders—Game On!

Wall Street’s worst nightmare just got a crypto upgrade.

Coinbase—the OG of US crypto exchanges—flipped the switch on CFTC-regulated perpetual futures for retail traders. No more offshore gambles or sketchy leverage. This is the real deal, wrapped in regulatory armor.

Why it matters: Mainstream meets moonshots.

Perps are crypto’s wildest derivative—no expiry, insane leverage, and now, legit. Coinbase’s move drags them into daylight. Traders get familiar tools; regulators get… ulcers. Everybody wins (until the next margin call).

The fine print: Same game, new rules.

20x max leverage (bye-bye, 100x degeneracy), USD settlements only, and full KYC—because Uncle Sam loves paperwork. It’s DeFi with training wheels.

Bottom line: Coinbase just handed retail the institutional playbook. Cue the ‘regulated’ euphoria—and the inevitable SEC side-eye. After all, what’s finance without a little bureaucratic theater?

Coinbase’s Offering

As of Monday, the company has joined the expanding list of exchanges offering regulated derivatives in the U.S. market.

“Bringing the power and efficiency of perpetual futures to a regulated American market…Huge step forward for U.S. crypto traders,” said the company in a July 21 announcement via X.

Coinbase explained in a separate blog post that perpetual futures account for roughly 90% of global crypto derivatives volume. However, until now, U.S. access has been limited by a complex regulatory landscape.

The contracts are already live, with the initial offering including nano Bitcoin (BTC-PERP) and nano Ether (ETH-PERP) perpetual futures. These are fractional contracts that give traders exposure to their respective assets at lower capital requirements. Each contract represents a small portion of the underlying cryptocurrency and supports up to 10x  intraday leverage, no monthly expiration dates, and trading fees as low as 0.02%.

These products are available through CFM, a CFTC-regulated entity, and are designed specifically for U.S. users. Unlike traditional futures, the perpetual contracts have five-year durations that allow traders to hold positions longer without the need for monthly rollovers. Additionally, they can also access up to 20x intraday leverage on metals futures such as Gold and silver.

Meanwhile, the exchange also recently rebranded its Coinbase Wallet to Base app. The new platform brings together crypto, social features, payments, and mini-apps, all powered by its ethereum Layer 2 network, Base.

Kraken Enters the American Derivatives Market

Coinbase’s move also comes amid growing competition from platforms like Kraken, which recently debuted its CFTC-regulated futures through the Kraken Pro platform. The product provides investors with access to CME-listed crypto futures, enabling Leveraged trading and hedging within a compliant framework.

The service is currently available in select U.S. states, including Vermont, West Virginia, North Dakota, Mississippi, and Washington, D.C., with plans to expand nationwide later this year.

The rollout followed Kraken’s $1.5 billion acquisition of retail futures brokerage firm NinjaTrader. Serving nearly two million futures investors, the platform holds a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) license, which was important for the exchange’s entry into the regulated U.S. derivatives market.