Coinbase Derivatives Launches 24/7 Futures Trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum

Coinbase Derivatives just launched 24/7 futures trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum. This makes it the first CFTC-regulated exchange to offer leveraged futures contracts round-the-clock and on weekends.

The firm is partnering with several companies to ensure ecosystem performance and reliability at all hours. It plans to offer perpetual futures contracts for BTC and ETH in the near future, but this isn’t ready yet.

Coinbase’s 24/7 Futures Trading

Yesterday, Coinbase clearly signaled its intention to expand in the crypto derivatives market, but this development is still extremely fast.

Specifically, it purchased Deribit, the world’s largest crypto derivatives exchange, for $2.9 billion. Although Coinbase posted a disappointing Q1 earnings report, it highlighted Q2 opportunities in the growing futures market.

One day later, the prominent exchange detailed its ambitious new plans more directly. Starting today, Coinbase is offering US traders 24/7 trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum futures. The firm claims that these round-the-clock operations will allow Coinbase to better reflect the continuous, uninterrupted nature of crypto trading.

“The arrival of 24/7 CFTC-regulated markets is a game-changer for the industry. Coinbase Financial Markets is thrilled to be able to provide seamless, around-the-clock access to futures trading, empowering our customers to trade anytime,” said Andy Sears, CEO of Coinbase Financial Markets.

The firm also seemed especially proud of its CFTC-regulated status; Coinbase recently won the Commission’s approval on some XRP futures offerings. Considering the exchange’s rocky history with this regulator, its current acceptance level is a significant milestone.

Coinbase’s press release was a little light on details over this 24/7 trading, but it all seems pretty straightforward. The firm already offered derivatives trading, and users now enjoy unprecedented new access.

Coinbase called this trading “just the beginning,” claiming that the real goal is BTC/ETH perpetual futures contracts, which the company does not currently offer.

Several partnering firms will help Coinbase manage this elevated volume of crypto futures trading. Nodal Clear, a day-one clearing house partner, Virtu Financial, a market maker, and two Futures Commission Merchants are all lending their infrastructure and support to maintain performance and reliability at all hours.

Hopefully, Coinbase’s substantial resources will enable it to successfully pursue its ambitious goals for market expansion.