Coinbase Files SEC Notices in Bid to Bring Single-Stock Perpetuals to US

Coinbase has filed two notice registrations with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a bid to offer single-stock perpetuals in the U.S., a move that would expand its domestic equity-derivatives lineup from thematic stock indexes to individual stocks.

U.S. users can already trade Coinbase perpetual-style futures tracking artificial intelligence, China, defense and the top 100 tech stocks. The new effort targets the single-stock exposure that Coinbase introduced for eligible customers outside the U.S. in March.

Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad called the SEC filings a first step and said product approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission comes next. The two-page filing packet identifies the registering entities and forms but does not state which stocks are proposed or which classes of U.S. customers could qualify.

The packet shows a Form 1-N for Coinbase Derivatives LLC and a Form BD-N for Coinbase Financial Markets Inc., both dated Sept. 1. The BD-N cover describes a notice registration as a security-futures-product broker-dealer.

The SEC’s Form 1-N is used for notice registration as a national securities exchange solely for trading security futures products. Coinbase Financial Markets is already registered as a futures commission merchant that facilitates customer trading of listed derivatives on designated contract markets.

Extending an Offshore Product

Coinbase’s offshore stock perpetuals cover Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta and Tesla, along with SPY and QQQ exchange-traded fund contracts where permitted. Coinbase said at launch that retail customers could access the product through Coinbase Advanced and institutions through Coinbase International Exchange; U.S. persons were excluded.

The U.S. index product trades around the clock with up to 20 times leverage and settles in USDC, according to Coinbase. Its exposure is to stock baskets rather than individual companies.

Shirzad said CFTC product approval is the next step for bringing equity perpetuals onshore.