Coinbase Financial Markets, a wholly owned subsidiary of Coinbase Global Inc., has received approval from National Futures Association (NFA) to operate a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), Coinbase said in an announcement.
NFA is a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-designated self-regulated organization. An FCA can buy and sell futures contracts. Coinbase applied for registration with FCA in September 2021.
Coinbase is the first crypto-native organization to directly offer spot crypto trading as well as regulated and leveraged crypto futures through an integrated trading solution for verified customers.
“We believe this is a watershed moment to be able to bring regulated crypto products to US customers. Where regulations are clear and sensible, we will work with regulators to receive the authorizations needed to offer products that align with our purpose of using crypto to update the financial system to advance economic freedom and opportunity,” Greg Tusar, VP, Institutional Product for Coinbase said in the statement.
In 2022, Coinbase acquired FairX, a CFTC-regulated futures exchange, which was later renamed as Coinbase Derivatives Exchange. It launched nano Bitcoin and Ethereum futures for retail and larger version for institutional markets.
Obtaining FCM approval will help Coinbase to offer these transparent and secure markets to customers.
