USDCoinbase Finalizes $2.9 Billion Acquisition of Deribit, Expands With USDC-Settled Options
Deribit Brings Linear Bitcoin and Ether Options to Market Under Coinbase Umbrella
Coinbase has completed its long-anticipated $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit, cementing one of the largest deals in crypto history and reshaping the derivatives landscape. The transaction, which closed on August 14, 2025, included $700 million in cash and 11 million Class A Coinbase shares, underscoring the exchange’s push to unify spot, futures, perpetuals, and options trading within a single platform. Coinbase executives described the agreement as the biggest brand-to-brand partnership the industry has seen, signaling an aggressive move to consolidate its grip on global derivatives markets.
Deribit enters Coinbase’s fold with scale and momentum. The Panama-based exchange processed over $1.185 trillion in trading volume during 2024, nearly doubling activity from the prior year, and maintains open interest of roughly $59 billion. July 2025 marked its busiest month on record, with more than $185 billion in monthly volumes. These figures highlight Deribit’s position as the dominant player in crypto options markets and a vital piece in Coinbase’s strategy to broaden institutional engagement. Coinbase Vice President of Institutional Products Greg Tusar said the acquisition complements record growth in its existing derivatives unit, while Deribit CEO Luuk Strijers emphasized that new product lines will give both institutional and retail traders more efficient tools to manage capital.
Only days after the deal closed, Deribit announced it will launch USDC-settled linear options and fixed futures for Bitcoin and Ethereum on August 19, further expanding its product suite. These instruments will allow traders to pay and receive payouts in USDC rather than underlying crypto assets, reducing exposure to market swings tied to coin settlement and aligning more closely with traditional finance structures. The new contracts introduce lower minimum order sizes—0.01 BTC for Bitcoin and 0.1 ETH for Ethereum—making the market more accessible to a wider range of participants. Strijers noted that USDC settlement provides fiat equivalence alongside improved capital efficiency, features that appeal to both retail traders and large institutions.
The linear options are designed to coexist with Deribit’s existing inverse, coin-settled products, giving traders opportunities to hedge and arbitrage across both systems. Settlement indexes were shifted on July 15 to peg BTC-USDC and ETH-USDC to BTC-USD and ETH-USD respectively, removing volatility from USDC exchange rates in payout calculations. However, Deribit cautioned that USDC de-peg risks remain and could affect margin calculations in cross-portfolio and single-portfolio margin accounts. Lower trade and tick sizes apply in public markets, though block trade thresholds remain consistent with existing inverse options.
Deribit has positioned these contracts as a step toward improved collateral flexibility and broader adoption of stablecoin-based settlement. Cross-portfolio margining is expected to ease capital requirements by offsetting positions across linear and inverse instruments, while USDC balances may also generate additional returns through Deribit’s four percent annual rewards program. A testnet is available for traders to explore the mechanics ahead of the live rollout. Combined with Coinbase’s global reach, the integration of Deribit’s trillion-dollar derivatives infrastructure and the addition of linear USDC-settled options establish the merged entity as a central hub for institutional and retail crypto derivatives trading worldwide.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
