Coinbase Derivatives Shakes Up Futures Market: USDC Now Accepted as Collateral
Wall Street's old guard won't like this one.
Coinbase Derivatives just dropped a bombshell: USDC—the crypto-native stablecoin—is now approved as collateral for U.S. futures trading. No more forced conversions to fiat. No more legacy banking bottlenecks.
The move signals a tectonic shift in institutional crypto adoption. Suddenly, traders can hedge positions without jumping through traditional finance's hoops—a middle finger to the 'we need regulation first' crowd.
Expect liquidity to surge as crypto-native capital floods the market. And watch for the usual suspects to spin this as 'reckless' while quietly updating their own risk models.
Funny how disruptive innovation always starts with 'this is dangerous' and ends with 'how did we ever live without this?'
Why is this move by Coinbase important?
Coinbase offers futures trading for both crypto and traditional assets on its derivatives platform. However, clearinghouses currently accept only fiat as collateral for futures trading. The addition of USDC expands those options, opening the market to more participants.
The partnership is part of Coinbase’s multi-year agreement with Nodal Clear and enhances USDC’s status as a cash equivalent.
Notably, Coinbase Derivatives’ plans add to the growth prospects for the U.S. futures market, with industry players eyeing increasing traction amid evolving regulatory approvals.
“Our commitment to integrate USDC as collateral reflects our dedication to enhance trading capabilities for US market participants, improve operational efficiency through almost instant money movement, and ensure secure custody via Coinbase Custody Trust, a Qualified Custodian regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services,” said Boris Ilyevsky, chief executive officer at Coinbase Derivatives.
Paul Cusenza, chairman and CEO of Nodal Clear, added that the integration of USDC is part of being “responsive to market needs and innovating.”
Stablecoin adoption
Coinbase’s announcement comes a day after a landmark regulatory development in the crypto space happened following the U.S. Senate’s vote on the GENIUS Act. Industry experts have hailed the stablecoin bill’s passage as one of the key first steps to bringing much-needed regulatory clarity and support for crypto innovation.
This comes as stablecoins continue to gain massive attention and traction,, with experts seeing trillions of dollars of institutional capital FLOW into crypto.
In November 2024, CFTC’s Global Markets Advisory Committee recommended the expansion of the use of non-cash collateral in trading through distributed ledger technology.
Circle’s USDC is currently the second-largest U.S.-dollar-backed stablecoin in the market with over $61 billion in market cap. Tether (USDT) is the largest with a market cap of over $155 billion.
