Coinbase to Launch Perpetual Equity Futures in U.S. on June 8

Coinbase Derivatives will begin offering four perpetual-style equity index futures on U.S. regulated markets on June 8. The contracts, tickers AIP, CHN, DEF and TEK, let traders take long or short positions without an expiration date.

The contracts are cash-settled and provide one times exposure to their underlying Marketvector indexes. Coinbase applied the perpetual-style framework used in crypto futures to equity indexes. A funding-rate mechanism, typically applied every eight hours, keeps contract prices close to the underlying index; when a contract trades above the index, long holders pay shorts, and when it trades below, shorts pay longs.

AI10 (AIP) tracks the top 10 U.S.-listed companies that derive at least 50% of revenue from AI infrastructure, data and applications, covering big data, fabless semiconductors, hyperscalers and AI-as-a-service, and hardware and data center solutions. China10 (CHN) follows the ten largest and most liquid Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges as American Depositary Receipts. Defense10 (DEF) targets the top ten U.S.-listed aerospace and defense firms that get at least half their revenue from defense operations. Tech100 (TEK) tracks 100 Nasdaq-listed companies across technology and related sectors, holding the top 80 by float-adjusted market cap with additions from the top 120 to maintain 100 names.

AI10, China10 and Defense10 use float-adjusted market-cap weighting with a 15% maximum weight per stock and quarterly rebalancing. Tech100 is float-adjusted and rebalanced quarterly but does not apply a concentration cap. A single contract represents one times the index level; for example, a Tech100 contract would have a notional value equal to the index price.

Coinbase announced the contracts will operate on regulated market infrastructure with centralized liquidity and public price discovery. The company wrote: “We’re adding even more ways to trade equities on Coinbase. Go long or short on the hottest sectors and trends.” Retail access through partner platforms is planned in the coming months, and the exchange said it will release more details on trading access later.

Futures receive different U.S. tax treatment than stocks and exchange-traded funds: gains from these contracts qualify under the 60/40 rule, where 60% of gains are treated as long-term capital gains and 40% as short-term regardless of holding period.

Risks specific to perpetual futures include high leverage that can magnify losses, accumulation of funding payments for positions on the wrong side of the rate, and counterparty and margin risk on centralized exchanges. Traders should review margin rules, funding dynamics and position sizing before trading.