Coinbase Applies to Trade Crypto Futures

Coinbase, a leading cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, has applied to the National Futures Association to become a registered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) (NFA).

The pending application was submitted on September 15 under the name "Coinbase Global Inc," according to the NFA website.

On Sept. 16, Coinbase announced the move on Twitter, saying, "This is the next step in broadening our capabilities and allowing futures and derivatives trading on our platforms." The goal is to expand the crypto economy.”

If Coinbase is recognized as an FCM member under the NFA, it must then register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates derivatives in the United States.

Despite an abundance of regulatory FUD derivatives have risen in popularity in 2021, the crypto derivatives markets outweigh the size of spot markets. According to CoinGecko data, the market has handled nearly $143 billion in the last 24 hours. Binance, FTX and Bybit currently lead the pack in terms of 24-hour open interest, with $10.1 billion, $6.8 billion and $3.8 billion respectively.

After the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) threatened to sue the corporation if it went ahead with its plans to sell a USD coin (USDC) lending product, Coinbase is really hoping that its transition to futures and derivatives goes much more smoothly.

Coinbase also offered $2 billion worth of junk bonds this week, according to The Economic Times, in an auction that saw $7 billion worth of orders submitted for seven and 10-year bonds.