Crypto exchange giant Coinbase will soon offer Bitcoin and Ethereum 24/7 futures trading via its Coinbase Derivatives platform—a first for U.S. clients.
The San-Francisco-based firm said Monday that the platform would make the service available in the coming weeks but did not specify an exact date.
Coinbase added that 24/7 trading of such contracts would give traders "uninterrupted access to manage risk and seize opportunities—just like crypto."
https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1899163756963500388
"Built in response to strong demand from crypto-native traders, these innovations make US markets more accessible, competitive and aligned with global standards," Coinbase said in its announcement.
Futures trading allows people to buy or sell the underlying asset—in this case Bitcoin or Ethereum—at a given price at a predetermined expiration date. Coinbase said that the service would offer different-sized contracts for traders.
In the world of derivatives, traders can buy and sell "micro futures," which represent a fraction of the underlying asset.
The worldwide crypto derivatives market is much bigger than spot trading (just buying and selling digital coins and tokens like Bitcoin): In the past 24 hours, $151 billion has traded hands in the spot markets; in the derivatives markets, the figure stands at $879 billion, CoinGecko data shows.
Coinbase also said it was working on offering a service of perpetual-style futures in the U.S. with long dated expirations.
Other crypto exchanges outside the U.S. already offer round-the-clock crypto futures trading services.
Coinbase in 2022 acquired CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange FairX and rebranded it as Coinbase Derivatives Exchange.
Edited by James Rubin