U.S. investors, after a two-year-long wait for a decision from the National Futures Association, can now put their money into crypto futures on Coinbase.
The company applied in 2021 to the NFA, which just granted approval for it to operate a Futures Commission Merchant, which can offer futures to customers. The NFA is designated as a registered futures association by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and as a member Coinbase now will pay dues to the organization and follow its rules.
The National Futures Association, a CFTC designated SRO, has approved Coinbase Financial Markets. as a registered Futures Commission Merchant .
Coinbase can now offer futures contracts in BTC and ETH to eligible customers in the US.👇— Coinbase 🛡️ (@coinbase) August 16, 2023
Coinbase is the first crypto-native company to add futures to spot crypto offerings, according to a company blog post published on Wednesday.
“We believe this is a watershed moment to be able to bring regulated crypto products to U.S. customers,” the post said.
The approval comes as a ruling is expected this week in Grayscale’s lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission for rejecting its application to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust to a spot Bitcoin ETF. The SEC has not approved a spot Bitcoin ETF, which tracks the price of Bitcoin and allows investors to invest in the crypto without actually buying it. It is considering several other applications, including from the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock.
Coinbase said in its blog post that making available to U.S. customers “regulated crypto derivatives will allow more people to access the cryptoeconomy in the United States in a safe way that helps keep the US at the center of digital innovation.”
Shares of Coinbase were up about 2%, to nearly $81, at time of publication.