Coinbase opens access to perpetual futures outside the United States

Clients Coinbase Advanced in jurisdictions outside the United States gained the ability to trade perpetual futures on Bitcoin, ETH, LTC and XRP in a USDC pair with USDC.

Initially, the contracts offer leverage up to 5x (for XRP — up to 3x). In the coming months, representatives of the trading platform pledged to add more available assets.

For the initial period, traders will be offered reduced fees: 0% for makers and 0.03% for takers. 

“We worked with Coinbase Advanced clients to understand how to improve service. They confirmed that access to advanced trading products on a trusted platform is their main requirement,” the announcement said.

According to the US firm, around 75% of crypto asset trading turnover is accounted for by derivatives markets.

Coinbase Advanced is a service for professional traders. The platform offers an expanded toolkit, including detailed order types, TradingView charts, and an API for automated trading.

The company said that their perpetual futures market is well capitalised thanks to an insurance fund and a liquidity-support program in USDC. 

The corresponding accounts are serviced by Coinbase International Exchange under the jurisdiction of the Bermuda Monetary Authority. In April the exchange received regulatory approval to operate.

The company did not specify the specific countries where the new products have rolled out, but the United Kingdom was not included in the list. You can check Coinbase’s access to futures in your region on the site using the email linked to your exchange account.

In August, Coinbase announced expansion in Canada as part of a partnership with the local financial services firm Peoples Trust Company.

In April, the founder and CEO of the exchange, Brian Armstrong stated that he was prepared to exit the U.S. market due to regulatory uncertainty.