- Coinbase has gained approval from the National Futures Association to offer crypto futures trading.
- The regulatory approval comes nearly two years after the crypto exchange initially submitted an application to the NFA.
- The latest development promoted the company’s share price to hike 5% in pre-market trading.
Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the United States, has gained regulatory approval to offer crypto futures trading in the country. The approval was granted by the National Futures Association (NFA), a self-regulatory organization overseen by the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), nearly two years after the California-based crypto exchange initially filed an application with it.
Coinbase Taps Into $2.9 Trillion Crypto Derivatives Market
The regulatory approval from the National Futures Association has made Coinbase a regulated Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) in the United States. It will be the first crypto-native platform to directly offer spot crypto trading alongside leveraged crypto futures to its users.
In a recent blog post, Coinbase described the regulatory approval from the NFA as a critical milestone that reaffirmed its commitment to operate a regulated and compliant business in the country. The exchange had reportedly been working with regulators over the past two years to ensure that its FCM business complied with the CFTC’s consumer protection standards.
Approval for US customers to access regulated crypto derivatives will allow more people to access the crypto economy in the United States in a safe way that helps keep the US at the center of digital innovation.”
Coinbase’s registration as an FCM paves the way for its debut in the crypto derivatives market, which clocked a whopping $2.95 trillion in March this year. Earlier this year, CCData reported that the market share of crypto derivatives trading rose to an all-time high of 77.6% in April.
The crypto exchange previously identified this market as a critical trader access point, which prompted the acquisition of FairX in 2022, which was later rebranded as Coinbase Derivatives Exchange. This subsidiary has since offered nano BTC and ETH futures contracts for retail investors.
News of the regulatory approval to offer crypto futures trading led to a hike of more than 5% in Coinbase’s share price in pre-market trading. The stock soared as high as $84.20.