Coinbase has secured approval to offer access to global crypto perpetual futures for U.S. users, a development its chief executive says could reconnect American traders with a market that has largely operated offshore for years.
- Coinbase has received approval to offer access to global crypto perpetual futures for U.S. users.
- Brian Armstrong said the move could connect American traders to global liquidity through a regulated domestic platform.
- The approval follows years of regulatory discussions and expands U.S. access to a market that generated $61.7 trillion in trading volume in 2025.
According to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, the approval allows the exchange to become the first U.S. platform offering access to what he described as true global crypto perpetual futures liquidity, following years of discussions with regulators and policymakers in Washington.
In a statement published on X, Armstrong said a lack of clear U.S. rules had pushed much of the crypto derivatives market overseas, while perpetual futures became the preferred product for many traders outside the country.
He argued that a significant share of Americans had continued using offshore platforms through VPNs and other workarounds, despite regulatory restrictions.
Armstrong also said enforcement against those practices was uncommon, creating what he described as an uneven environment for companies operating within U.S. rules.
The comments come weeks after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved Coinbase’s plan to offer crypto perpetual futures to U.S. customers. Announced on May 29, the clearance made Coinbase the first U.S. exchange permitted to provide access to a product that dominates global crypto derivatives trading.
Industry data cited by crypto.news previously showed perpetual futures generated $61.7 trillion in trading volume during 2025, accounting for the majority of activity across crypto derivatives markets.
Coinbase ties U.S. traders to global liquidity
While traditional futures contracts expire on a set date, perpetual futures can be held indefinitely and use funding payments between traders to keep prices aligned with the underlying asset. The contracts have become a popular tool for leveraged crypto trading, though U.S. regulators historically restricted access to them.
Coinbase said its newly approved structure will connect American users with global liquidity through Deribit, the offshore derivatives exchange it acquired for $2.9 billion earlier this year. The company has also announced plans to launch its own U.S. Perpetual-Style Futures product on July 21.
Describing the approval as an important step for U.S. capital markets, Armstrong said the change allows domestic traders to access the same products available internationally while remaining within a regulated framework.
His remarks focused on liquidity fragmentation that developed as offshore exchanges captured most perpetual futures activity. By bringing U.S. participants into the same liquidity pools as international traders, he said the market could become more connected than it has been in recent years.
“Coinbase is strongest in the US, and the US is the largest market for trading, so there is now a chance to build a global network effect around liquidity. And US traders can now use these products in a compliant way with a US company, which hopefully provides greater customer protection.”
Armstrong specifically thanked CFTC Chair Harry Selig and SEC Chair Paul Atkins for supporting regulatory changes that enabled the launch, adding that Coinbase intends to continue working with regulators as it expands compliant access to crypto trading products in the United States.
The approval adds to a series of initiatives that Coinbase has introduced beyond spot cryptocurrency trading. Earlier this month, the company announced what it described as the first Fannie Mae-insured mortgage backed by Bitcoin collateral, while Coinbase executives also recently joined Mastercard’s new AI payments network focused on stablecoin-powered transactions between autonomous software agents.
