Jun 23, 2025 As the regulatory landscape for digital assets continues to evolve, Coinbase has announced plans to launch CFTC-compliant perpetual futures trading in the United States, marking a significant step for crypto derivatives within the country. This move comes just as lawmakers introduced sweeping legislation that could shape the future of such offerings. Coinbase’s Strategic Expansion At the State of Crypto Summit in New York, Coinbase’s Vice President of Product, Max Branzburg, announced that the exchange was planning to offer perpetual futures products that comply with Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) standards. Perpetual futures are crypto derivatives allowing traders to bet on the price movements of tokens without an expiry date, often using high leverage and 24/7 access – features that have made them a staple on offshore exchanges but largely unavailable within the United States under regulatory constraints. “We recently launched first-of-its-kind 24/7 futures trading, and I’m excited to share that we’ll soon be launching CFTC-compliant perpetual futures trading in the U.S. as well,” Branzburg said. This launch signals Coinbase’s intent to cement its foothold in the institutional and sophisticated retail derivatives market, an area that has been dominated by international platforms operating outside the purview of US regulators. Regulatory Developments in Congress Coinciding with Coinbase’s announcement, House Financial Services Chair French Hill introduced the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (“CLARITY Act”) on May 29, 2025, a 236-page bill seeking to define and structure how digital assets are regulated. The Act’s stated purpose is: “To provide for a system of regulation of the offer and sale of digital commodities by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and for other purposes.” The bill proposes clearer jurisdictional lines between the SEC and CFTC, aiming to resolve longstanding ambiguity over whether specific crypto tokens are securities or commodities. Under the proposed framework, digital commodities would fall under the CFTC’s purview, while securities tokens would remain within the SEC’s jurisdiction. Interplay Between Market and Policy Coinbase’s move reflects a broader trend among US-based platforms seeking to offer complex products within a compliant framework, anticipating both enforcement clarity and market demand. If enacted, the CLARITY Act would codify and potentially expand the CFTC’s role over digital commodity derivatives, facilitating more robust and legally certain offerings like Coinbase’s perpetual futures. At a time when investors are regaining risk appetite and crypto exchanges seek to diversify their products, these parallel developments underscore an emerging consensus: regulated derivatives are set to play a central role in the maturing US digital asset market.