The CFTC gave Coinbase a green light to offer crypto perpetual futures on Friday, setting the stage for the U.S. exchange to soon begin connecting its customers to the lucrative and highly risky offshore market.
Coinbase will decide which of those assets are “fit for purpose” and “the right kind of assets” to offer U.S. customers in the form of perpetual futures, the source said.
On Thursday, Coinbase sent the CFTC a letter requesting the regulator issue a no-action letter—a guarantee that it would not sue, should Coinbase begin offering customers access to offshore crypto perps. Less than 24 hours later, the CFTC replied with an elaborate, 16-page document outlining a new policy permitting Coinbase's requested activities.
Though Coinbase is the first U.S. crypto exchange to receive the go-ahead to offer U.S. customers access to the global crypto perps market, other exchanges are all but guaranteed to immediately follow suit, referencing the guidelines laid out in the CFTC’s no-action letter.
