Coinbase seeks CFTC approval for U.S. single-stock perpetuals

Coinbase Derivatives filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday seeking approval to list single-stock perpetual futures for U.S. customers. The proposal would allow perpetual contracts tied to individual U.S. equities to trade 24 hours a day, five days a week.

The filing asks the CFTC to classify the products as single-stock futures. Coinbase’s paperwork lists an initial roster of roughly 50 to 60 names, including Apple, Microsoft, Tesla and Nvidia.

Perpetual futures do not have a fixed expiration date and typically use a funding mechanism to keep contract prices aligned with the underlying cash market. The contracts would let traders take leveraged positions in a single equity without owning the shares and hold those positions while margin requirements are met.

The application follows a regulatory step on Sept. 1, when Coinbase Derivatives filed a Form 1-N with the Securities and Exchange Commission to register as a national securities exchange for the purpose of offering security futures. Coinbase launched stock perpetuals for eligible customers outside the U.S. in March; those products were not available to U.S. persons at launch.

Coinbase is seeking CFTC authorization for the listing, the trading rules and the surveillance protocols required for single-stock futures. The filing is now under CFTC review; approval will determine whether and under what conditions the contracts can be offered to U.S. customers.