Coinbase has filed to list perpetual futures tied to more than 50 major U.S. stocks, including Nvidia, Microsoft and Tesla, with 24/5 trading and no fixed expiration dates.
Summary
- More than 50 proposed contracts would track individual U.S.-listed companies.
- The products would trade 24 hours a day from Monday through Friday.
- Regulatory clearance is required before Coinbase can offer the contracts.
- Traders would gain leveraged price exposure without owning the underlying shares.
Coinbase said in a Sep. 18 announcement that it had submitted the proposed contracts for listing on its regulated U.S. derivatives exchange, calling the planned range the first single-stock perpetual futures offering in the country.
“Crypto was first, now it’s time for stocks,” the company said.
The filing covers more than 50 stocks, with Nvidia, Microsoft and Tesla among the names disclosed by the exchange. Coinbase plans to let customers trade the contracts around the clock on weekdays, extending access beyond the regular U.S. stock market session.
Unlike conventional futures, the proposed contracts would have no set expiry date. Traders could maintain a position while meeting the exchange’s margin rules and any funding obligations attached to the product.
Coinbase has not started offering the contracts, and their listing remains subject to the U.S. regulatory process.
Coinbase stock perpetuals would provide price exposure without shares
Single-stock perpetuals track the price of an individual company but do not give the trader ownership of its shares. A customer holding an Nvidia perpetual, for example, would gain exposure to movements in Nvidia’s stock price without becoming a shareholder through the contract.
The distinction matters because shareholders may receive voting rights, dividends, and other corporate benefits. Futures traders instead hold an agreement whose value changes with the referenced stock, subject to the terms set by the exchange.
Perpetual contracts use recurring funding payments to keep their prices close to the underlying market. Depending on market conditions, traders holding long positions may pay short sellers, or short sellers may pay long holders.
Coinbase also plans to permit leverage, allowing customers to open positions larger than the capital posted as margin. Leverage can increase returns when a trade moves in the expected direction, but it also raises losses and may lead to liquidation when a customer’s collateral falls below the required level.
The proposed 24/5 schedule would cover periods when the underlying shares are not trading during the regular session. U.S. stock exchanges generally run their main sessions from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time on weekdays, although brokers may also support premarket and after-hours trading.
Because prices can move when liquidity is lower outside the main session, the contracts’ trading rules, funding system, and reference pricing would affect how closely they follow the underlying shares. Coinbase had not disclosed the full contract specifications, leverage limits or launch timetable in its initial announcement.
US approval would extend Coinbase’s regulated derivatives business
Coinbase already offers cryptocurrency perpetual futures through its regulated U.S. derivatives operation. Its stock filing would extend the same basic contract structure from digital assets to individual public companies if regulators allow the listings.
For American customers, the proposal would place single-stock perpetuals inside a regulated domestic market rather than requiring them to use an offshore exchange or an onchain trading venue. Coinbase described the planned products as a U.S. first, although their availability will depend on the filing review and any conditions attached to approval.
The contracts differ from tokenized equities, another product category that crypto companies have pursued. A perpetual future is a derivative tied to a stock’s price, while a tokenized share can represent ownership or a claim backed by securities, depending on its structure.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently argued that tokenized stocks should be backed by real securities and carry the rights associated with the underlying shares. He made the comments as the exchange sought to connect global customers with the U.S. equity market, which he valued at more than $70 trillion.
The proposed perpetuals would not provide that ownership model. Instead, they would give traders a leveraged contract settled under the exchange’s derivatives rules, leaving the underlying company’s shareholder register unchanged.
U.S. regulators have also been considering how blockchain infrastructure could support securities markets. As crypto.news previously reported, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a transfer agent overhaul that would allow approved blockchain systems to serve as official records of securities ownership.
The SEC proposal addresses the ownership register rather than synthetic instruments that only follow an asset’s price. Coinbase’s perpetual filing falls on the derivatives side of the market, where the regulatory review focuses on the contract and the venue offering it.
Nasdaq secured SEC approval in March to test tokenized stock trading, providing another route for applying blockchain-based systems to U.S. equities. Nasdaq’s model involves securities trading, while Coinbase’s proposed contracts would track stocks without transferring the shares themselves.
Coinbase has been adding stocks beyond its crypto business
Outside the United States, Coinbase has started expanding direct access to traditional equities. The company recently began rolling out 24/5 trading in nearly 4,000 U.S. stocks for eligible customers in the United Kingdom.
Coinbase’s U.K. service gives customers access to shares rather than perpetual futures, making it a separate product from the contracts proposed for the U.S. derivatives exchange. The weekday trading schedule, however, follows the company’s plan to make financial markets available beyond standard exchange hours.
The exchange has also added services that place crypto and traditional financial products inside the same platform. Its product range now covers spot crypto trading, regulated derivatives, prediction markets and stock access in selected jurisdictions.
In the Middle East, Coinbase recently received Financial Services Permission from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market. The company said it plans to use Abu Dhabi as an international base for developing tokenization services outside the United States.
Abu Dhabi’s approval covers a separate regional operation and does not authorize the proposed U.S. single-stock perpetuals. Coinbase must complete the domestic review before customers can trade the contracts on its American derivatives venue.
The initial stock list includes several of the most actively traded U.S. companies, but Coinbase has not published all the proposed contracts or confirmed which ones would become available first. The exchange also has not provided a launch date, saying the products remain subject to regulatory clearance.
