Coinbase has taken a formal step toward offering single-stock perpetual futures to U.S. traders, filing two notices with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Sept. 1 through separate regulated subsidiaries.

The move does not clear the product for launch. Coinbase chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad said approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is still required before any U.S. customer can trade the contracts.

Two filings submitted through Coinbase units

According to the filings, Coinbase Derivatives submitted Form 1-N to register as a security futures exchange, while Coinbase Financial Markets filed Form BD-N to register as a limited-purpose security futures broker-dealer. The notices cover the entities that would list and handle the product in the U.S. market.

The company presented the SEC filings as the first formal attempt to bring its stock perpetual futures structure onshore for domestic users. U.S. persons were excluded from Coinbase’s earlier international launch of the product.

What the product is and why it matters

Perpetual futures are derivatives contracts without an expiration date. Instead of settling on a fixed maturity, they rely on a funding-rate mechanism between long and short positions to keep prices aligned with the underlying asset.

That structure allows traders to maintain leveraged bullish or bearish exposure without directly owning the shares. Coinbase has already offered 10x perpetuals tied to names including Apple, Nvidia and Tesla for non-U.S. users, with settlement in USDC.

Existing overseas model offers a preview

Coinbase launched stock perpetual futures outside the U.S. on March 20. The initial range covered the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks: Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta and Tesla. In some jurisdictions, the lineup also included contracts linked to the SPY and QQQ exchange-traded funds.

The new U.S. filings suggest Coinbase wants to replicate that around-the-clock model domestically, using the same 24/7 availability and USDC-settled structure it already operates abroad, although regulators would still need to approve the contracts themselves.

Market reaction and broader strategy

Coinbase shares rose 10.14% to $192.70 after the announcement. The jump came as investors reacted to the possibility that the company could extend a product category already popular in offshore markets into the U.S. under a regulated framework.

The filing also fits into Coinbase’s broader effort to expand beyond spot crypto trading. In June, CEO Brian Armstrong said the platform now includes pre-IPO perpetuals and stock options, with tokenized stocks planned next. He tied that push to Coinbase’s $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit, while head of consumer and business products Max Branzburg described the longer-term goal as offering one account for everything a customer trades, with instant settlement and continuous access.

What comes next

The immediate next step is CFTC product approval, which Shirzad said is still needed. He argued that equity perpetuals have already shown demand internationally and said coordination between the SEC and CFTC is necessary if the U.S. wants to remain competitive in products investors already seek elsewhere.

Until regulators approve the contracts, the SEC filings only establish the exchange and broker-dealer framework Coinbase would use. An unresolved issue is whether U.S. regulators would allow the same 10x leverage on individual stocks that Coinbase offers abroad, or require tighter limits before any launch can proceed.

Source: news.bitcoin.com