Coinbase files to bring single-stock perpetual futures to US market

Coinbase has sought CFTC permission to list single-stock perpetual futures in the United States, according to a filing submitted by its Coinbase Derivatives unit. The contracts would allow traders to take continuous, 24/5 exposure to individual US equities without holding the underlying shares. Perpetual futures differ from standard futures because they have no set expiration date.

The CFTC classifies the proposed instruments as single-stock futures, and the application is currently pending regulatory approval. Coinbase said the offerings would extend the structure already used in its US perpetual futures market to individual stocks for US customers.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Coinbase plans to initially offer perpetual contracts tied to roughly 50 to 60 names, naming Apple, Microsoft, Tesla and Nvidia among the likely inclusions. Coinbase previously launched stock perpetual futures for eligible traders outside the United States in March, with contracts tracking major US stocks and indexes; those products were not available to US persons at the time.

This CFTC filing follows an earlier step by Coinbase Derivatives to engage securities regulators: the company submitted a Form 1-N to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Sept. 1 to register as a national securities exchange for the purpose of offering security futures. The new filing is part of Coinbase’s broader effort to expand derivatives offerings tied to US equities, subject to regulatory approval.