Coinbase Launches Perpetual Futures Trading for Non-US Users

Coinbase has announced the launch of perpetual futures trading for its non-US consumers on Coinbase Advanced, an advanced retail trading platform.

Futures contracts with no expiration date enable traders to speculate on the price movements of crypto assets. Effective immediately, Coinbase Advanced consumers in non-US jurisdictions can trade four perpetual contracts bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC), and ripple (XRP).

These contracts are settled in USDC, which is a stablecoin guaranteed by U.S. dollars. Through advanced.coinbase.com, users can now access perpetual futures with up to 5X leverage (except for XRP, which is at 3X), with mobile trading options coming shortly.

As part of an introductory promotion, consumers will pay 0% (maker) and 0.03% (taker) in transaction fees. Coinbase enables perpetual futures for customers outside the United States.

It has regulatory sanction from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), a leading regulator of digital assets renowned for its stringent framework for supervising crypto businesses.

The BMA granted Coinbase Exchange a class F license in May 2023, allowing it to offer perpetual futures to non-US institutions.

According to Coinbase, its perpetual futures products adhere to stringent compliance standards, and the company intends to expand access to derivatives through Coinbase Advanced to serve a greater number of global customers.

Coinbase’s introduction of perpetual futures coincides with a substantial increase in the

“Perpetual futures are only available to non-US customers in select jurisdictions. In order to create a Coinbase Advanced trading account, customers will need to pass through our standard assessment checks to determine their eligibility for this product,” Coinbase said in a blog post.

According to CoinGecko’s report, 75% of the total crypto trading volume in March 2023, which totaled $2.95 trillion, was accounted for by crypto derivatives.

Coinbase boasted that their perpetual futures provide traders with several benefits, including increased capital efficiency, simpler access to the crypto market with a limited initial investment, and improved risk management for their underlying crypto assets.