Key Takeaways
- Coinbase submitted a notice registration document to the SEC for listing equity perpetual contracts on its exchange.
- Faryar Shirzad, the company’s Chief Policy Officer, shared news of the submission on X, describing it as “a regulated pathway for U.S. investors.”
- Following SEC clearance, the company must also obtain CFTC authorization before launching the service.
- Equity perpetuals are futures contracts without expiration dates, allowing traders to speculate on price fluctuations without asset ownership.
- Competitor platform Hyperliquid is also rumored to be pursuing U.S. market entry through a partnership with Kraken’s parent entity.
Coinbase submitted a notice registration document to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week, requesting authorization to offer equity perpetual contracts on its trading platform.
Faryar Shirzad, the exchange’s Chief Policy Officer, acknowledged the submission in a Thursday post on X. “Equity perps have proven demand internationally, and we’re excited at the prospect of a regulated pathway for U.S. investors,” he stated.
This filing represents another advancement in Coinbase’s effort to expand derivative offerings for American customers.
Perpetual contracts, often referred to as “perps,” are futures instruments that lack an expiration date. These contracts enable traders to speculate on asset price changes without taking ownership of the underlying assets.
In contrast to conventional futures, perpetual contracts don’t require position rollovers. This characteristic has made them attractive to active market participants seeking to maintain positions for extended periods.
A significant portion of the perpetual contracts market currently operates through offshore platforms that exist beyond U.S. regulatory jurisdiction.
Coinbase introduced perpetual futures in March, although access was restricted to non-U.S. customers. The initial product lineup featured major stocks such as Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Amazon.
Additional Regulatory Hurdles Remain
Securing SEC approval represents just one component of the overall process. Shirzad emphasized that CFTC authorization would subsequently be necessary before Coinbase can offer equity perpetual contracts to American traders.
Coinbase has previous experience with CFTC approvals. In May, the regulatory body authorized both Coinbase and prediction platform KalshiEX to offer bitcoin perpetual futures contracts domestically.
The next month, the CFTC issued a public comment request regarding crude oil perpetual contracts and around-the-clock trading, indicating expanded regulatory focus on this market segment.
Kalshi has separately submitted an application for CFTC approval to introduce equity index perpetuals, positioning itself as a competitor to traditional exchanges.
Hyperliquid Pursues Domestic Operations
The expanding movement toward regulated perpetual contracts has drawn attention to Hyperliquid, a platform that gained traction among cryptocurrency derivatives participants.
President Donald Trump referenced Hyperliquid during a White House appearance last month, stating that CFTC Chair Michael Selig was facilitating the platform’s U.S. entry in a “fully compliant and legal fashion.”
Bloomberg reported this week that Hyperliquid Labs is negotiating a domestic arrangement with Payward, the corporate entity behind cryptocurrency exchange Kraken.
Earlier CFTC approvals for crypto perpetual products had initially created headwinds for exchange-related equities during the year’s first half, though this sector has since rebounded from those losses.
Coinbase’s COIN stock has participated in that recovery, benefiting from renewed momentum across the cryptocurrency market. The aggregate crypto market capitalization recently climbed to $2.82 trillion.
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