Coinbase to Launch Stock Futures, Why This Is Big For Crypto

Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency centralized exchanges (CEX) in the United States, has just announced the launching of stock perpetual futures for non-US traders.

The stock market closes. These don’t.

Now trading 24/7 for eligible traders outside the US.

Coinbase frames this launch as part of its broader “Everything Exchange” strategy, aiming to bring crypto, traditional assets, and new tokenized products into one venue.

Today, Coinbase expands its global derivatives offering with the launch of stock perpetual futures, becoming one of the first major centralized venues to offer this product. This launch strengthens Coinbase’s position in international derivatives and advances our long-term strategy of building the Everything Exchange where traders can access crypto, traditional, and emerging assets side by side.

At launch, contracts cover the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, NVIDIA, Meta Platforms, and Tesla. In certain permitted jurisdictions, perpetual futures on benchmark ETFs tracking, the S&P 500 (SPY) and the tech‑heavy Nasdaq‑100 (QQQ), are also available.

Leverage goes up to 10x on individual stock perpetuals and up to 20x on ETF perpetuals. All contracts are settled in USDC, Coinbase’s preferred stablecoin. The platform uses unified margin across perpetual and spot positions, allowing more capital-efficient portfolio management and risk offsets.

Coinbase is methodically weaving spot, futures, and now stock‑linked perpetuals into a single, always‑on risk platform that changes how both retail and institutions express views across markets. For traders, that unlocks new basis trades between spot stocks and perpetuals, tighter cross‑asset plays between crypto and U.S. equities, and more complex hedging around macro events and earnings.

The flip side is obvious: deeper leverage stacks mean a higher risk of cascading liquidations and sharper, event‑driven volatility when the Fed speaks, data prints hit, or Big Tech reports.

Cover image from Perplexity, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview