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Coinbase Seeks U.S. Approval for Single-Stock Perpetual Futures
Filing Targets 24/5 Trading Across Major U.S. Equities
TL;DR
- Coinbase Derivatives filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on September 18, 2026, to list single-stock perpetual futures for U.S. traders.
- The proposed products would provide 24/5 price exposure without stock ownership and remain pending regulatory approval.
- Coinbase reportedly plans roughly 50 to 60 contracts, including Apple, Microsoft, Tesla and Nvidia, with a potential launch later in 2026.
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Coinbase is seeking U.S. regulatory approval to offer single-stock perpetual futures, filing through Coinbase Derivatives on September 18, 2026, for contracts that would give U.S. traders extended price exposure to individual equities without owning the underlying shares. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission classifies the proposed products as single-stock futures, and the contracts remain pending regulatory approval rather than approved for trading.
Coinbase described the application as covering its “first set” of U.S. single-stock perpetuals. The company said the products would build on its existing U.S. perpetual-futures market by extending the structure to individual stocks. The proposed contracts are designed to provide 24/5 exposure, allowing traders to maintain positions across a broader trading window than standard U.S. cash-equity sessions while stopping short of the continuous trading associated with crypto spot markets.
Perpetual futures differ from traditional futures because they do not have an expiration date. Traders can maintain positions indefinitely as long as applicable margin and funding requirements are met. The contracts track the price of an underlying asset but do not require the holder to purchase that asset directly.
Holding a single-stock perpetual would therefore provide only price exposure. Traders would receive no shareholder rights, dividends or ownership in the underlying company, meaning a perpetual tied to Apple, Tesla, Microsoft or Nvidia would function as a derivative rather than as a shareholding.
According to reports, Coinbase plans to initially offer perpetual futures tied to roughly 50 to 60 stocks. Apple, Microsoft, Tesla and Nvidia were specifically identified among the proposed underlying equities. The products could potentially begin trading later in 2026 if regulators approve the filing.
Coinbase Builds on Earlier Perpetual Futures Expansion
The September filing extends Coinbase’s broader push into regulated derivatives. Earlier in 2026, Coinbase became the first U.S. exchange cleared to offer regulated crypto perpetual futures and later rolled out contracts carrying leverage of up to 50x.
That leverage figure applies to Coinbase’s previously launched crypto perpetual products, not automatically to the proposed single-stock contracts. Contract specifications and leverage limits for the new stock-linked products were not fully detailed in the source material.
Coinbase already offers stock perpetual futures to eligible traders outside the United States. The company launched that product in March 2026 with contracts tracking major U.S. stocks and indexes, including Apple and Nvidia.
At the time of that launch, Coinbase said the products were unavailable to U.S. persons but that it was working to expand the offering into additional regions. The latest filing represents its effort to extend the same general product category into the domestic market under U.S. regulatory oversight.
Coinbase Derivatives also took an earlier regulatory step on September 1, 2026, when it filed a Form 1-N with the Securities and Exchange Commission to register as a national securities exchange for the purpose of offering security futures.
The later CFTC application addresses the proposed products themselves, which the commodities regulator classifies as single-stock futures. Taken together, the two regulatory actions cover Coinbase Derivatives’ effort to establish the framework for offering security futures and seek clearance for specific single-stock perpetual contracts.
U.S. Perpetual Futures Market Broadens
Coinbase’s filing comes as perpetual-style derivatives gain a broader regulated foothold in the United States. The CFTC previously approved Bitcoin perpetual futures for Kalshi, which later expanded into commodities including copper.
Polymarket has also moved toward offering crypto perpetual futures, placing Coinbase’s proposal within a wider effort to bring perpetual-style products into U.S.-focused markets across crypto, commodities and individual equities.
Coinbase’s proposed contracts would extend that structure specifically to publicly traded companies. Rather than transferring shares or creating shareholder status, the products would allow traders to take derivative positions linked to movements in individual stock prices.
As of the filing, the single-stock perpetual futures had not been approved or launched for U.S. customers. The CFTC listing continued to show the proposed products as approval pending, with regulatory clearance required before trading can begin.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
