Coinbase has opened trading on the Deribit exchange to American institutional clients. Funds and companies from the US have gained access to crypto options and perpetual futures. The announcement came on November 4.
Deribit is a crypto derivatives exchange that is part of Coinbase. An option is the right to buy or sell an asset at a pre-agreed price. A perpetual future is a leveraged contract with no expiration date.
Previously, such instruments were traded mainly outside US regulation. Now large capital from the US can work with them within a regulated perimeter.
How is access structured?
Through Coinbase Financial Markets. This is the entity through which institutional clients gain access to the global derivatives market.
- Options - the right to buy or sell an asset at an agreed price
- Perpetual futures - leveraged contracts with no expiration date
- Deribit's order book - open to professional participants from the US, not just clients outside US jurisdiction
Why does the margin caveat matter?
Liquidity is shared, but collateral is separate. Coinbase specifically stipulates: a shared liquidity pool does not mean a single margin pool.
- Collateral separately. Positions on different contracts are each collateralized on their own.
- No netting. A gain on one instrument does not automatically offset a loss on another.
- Risk is not portfolio-based. It is not calculated across the entire portfolio at once.
What does this mean for a trader?
The composition of the market is changing. Options and perpetual futures are the main source of leverage in crypto.
Now large American funds can build and hedge such positions within a regulated perimeter, rather than through offshore accounts.
Key point: leverage in crypto is increasingly coming under US regulation. If you trade crypto on a prop, it's worth choosing a challenge suited to your market in advance.
Do you hold leveraged perpetual futures?
You know yourself how quickly collateral gets eaten up during a sharp move in BTC. Crypto programs differ on exactly these points: the set of available contracts, maximum leverage, the moment of forced liquidation, and how the daily loss is calculated. The same style is allowed in one program and is the reason to lose your account on day one in another. It's more convenient to check this upfront.