Coinbase Files With CFTC To List US Single-Stock Perpetual Futures, Including AAPL And TSLA Contracts

• Coinbase Derivatives sought CFTC’s approval for perpetual futures on individual U.S. stocks.
• Coinbase filed SEC notice registrations on September 1, making the CFTC request the second half of a two-regulator process.
• Perpetual futures dominate global crypto trading but have never traded on a regulated U.S. venue, pushing American traders offshore.

Coinbase (COIN) Derivatives asked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday to approve perpetual futures on individual U.S. stocks, which would reportedly include Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) contracts.

The filing urged the commission to approve "Equity Perpetual Contracts." Jane Downey, Coinbase Derivatives' chief regulatory officer, signed the letter, which explained the exchange intended to list the contracts "shortly following approval by the Commission, pending any additional necessary regulatory approvals." 

The submission used an Apple contract as its representative specification, which was cash-settled, carried no fixed expiration, used hourly funding payments, and would trade from Sunday 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) to Friday 5 p.m. ET.

This is important because perpetual futures, or "perps," never expire. Traders can hold leveraged long or short positions indefinitely, and a periodic funding payment keeps the contract price tied to the underlying asset. The structure was built offshore on crypto rails, and U.S. traders have largely been locked out of it.

COIN stock closed in the green, up over 11% on Friday. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around COIN moved to the ‘neutral’ from the ‘bearish’ zone, while chatter around it stayed at ‘high’ levels over the past day.

Apple, Tesla In Lineup

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Coinbase was the first company to file with the CFTC for U.S. single-stock perpetual futures. The Journal explained that Coinbase planned contracts on roughly 50 to 60 stocks, including Apple, Tesla, Microsoft (MSFT), and Nvidia (NVDA), with trading targeted for later this year. It further added that traders flocked to the offshore platform Hyperliquid (HYPE) for the same leveraged stock exposure. 

On the same day, CEO Brian Armstrong also wrote on X that it was "time to bring stock perps onshore."

SEC Filings Came First

Friday's submission was only the second half of a two-regulator process. Because each contract references a single stock, it counts as a security futures product, which falls under both the CFTC and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

Coinbase Derivatives filed a Form 1-N with the SEC on September 1 to register as a national securities exchange, and Coinbase Financial Markets filed a Form BD-N the same day as a security futures broker-dealer. Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad announced the filings saying equity perps had "proven demand internationally" and that CFTC product approval was "the next step."

Tokenized Stocks Get Approval

The push landed days after the SEC approved a new "Innovation Exemption" on Thursday, allowing venues to trade tokenized U.S. stocks on blockchain for five years without registering as exchanges. The CFTC has not set a decision date on Coinbase's request.

Read also: Cathie Wood Says ‘Bitcoin Is Not A Dead Cat’, Days After ARK Sold Its Own Bitcoin ETF

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.