Coinbase has submitted an application to become a registered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the National Futures Association (NFA).
Very few things are known about this, except for the fact that the application was submitted on September 15th and that it bears the name “Coinbase Global Inc.”
Coinbase confirmed this through Twitter today and said “this is the next step to broaden our offerings and offer futures and derivatives trading on our platforms. Goal: Further grow the crypto economy.”
If Coinbase becomes an FCM under the NFA, the next step will be to register with the US derivatives regulator the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in order to receive full approval.
The crypto derivatives markets completely overshadow the size of spot markets.
Most likely, Coinbase will want this move to futures and derivatives to be easier than its plans to release a USDC lending product which, when announced, received a threat with a lawsuit from the US SEC if the company went ahead with the launch.