Coinbase has filed with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to list perpetual futures tied to individual stocks, seeking to bring a derivatives product popular in cryptocurrency markets into the U.S. equity market. The application was submitted days after the CLARITY Act, a digital-asset market-structure bill, failed to secure passage in Congress.

The filing, made by Coinbase Derivatives, would allow U.S. traders to gain 24/5 exposure to individual stocks — trading equity price exposure nearly around the clock on weekdays, a window extending well beyond the standard trading hours of traditional U.S. stock exchanges — without owning the underlying shares, subject to regulatory approval. Unlike traditional futures, perpetual contracts carry no fixed expiration date and typically use funding payments to keep their prices aligned with the underlying asset. First popularized on offshore cryptocurrency exchanges, perpetual futures have become among the most heavily traded instruments in global digital-asset markets.

Coinbase said the proposed contracts would build on its existing U.S. perpetual futures market. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the company is initially targeting roughly 50 to 60 stocks, including Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, and Nvidia.

SEC Registration Preceded the CFTC Filing

The CFTC application follows a September 1, 2026, Form 1-N registration by Coinbase Derivatives with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to register as a national securities exchange for the limited purpose of offering security futures. Security futures are derivatives tied to the prices of individual securities and are overseen under a joint SEC-CFTC framework. The proposed contracts remain subject to regulatory approval and are not yet available to U.S. traders.

Overseas Rollout Came First

Coinbase already offers equity perpetual futures to eligible customers outside the United States. The company launched those products internationally in March 2026, initially offering contracts linked to major U.S. stocks and indexes while excluding U.S. persons — a rollout that preceded the CFTC filing by roughly six months.

A Broader Push Into Traditional Financial Markets

The proposal extends Coinbase's expansion beyond cryptocurrency derivatives and deeper into traditional financial markets. In May 2026, the company said its U.S.-regulated derivatives business had gained access to global crypto perpetual futures and options markets, while its broader derivatives platform is being combined with Deribit, the crypto derivatives exchange Coinbase acquired in 2025.

A U.S. rollout would also place Coinbase within a developing market for perpetual-style products tied to traditional assets. The contracts would provide exposure to stock-price movements rather than ownership of the underlying securities, meaning traders would not receive shareholder rights such as voting rights.

Regulatory Backdrop

The proposal comes as U.S. regulators and exchanges continue to determine how perpetual contracts should be treated under existing derivatives rules. Under the proposed equity futures structure, both the SEC and the CFTC would hold regulatory roles. The filing also lands amid a wider regulatory effort: after the CLARITY Act stalled, the CFTC sent proposed crypto market rules to the White House for review. Both that review and the regulators' decision on Coinbase's filing remain pending, leaving the treatment of perpetual-style equity products under U.S. rules an open question.

BitcoinKE highlighted the CFTC's parallel rulemaking work in an X post published alongside its report:

In August 2026, the @CFTC Chairman said the agency was exploring rules that could allow existing registrants and currently unregistered crypto exchanges to operate as a new type of designated… pic.twitter.com/rcP21QAUnW

— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) September 19, 2026

For Coinbase, the filing marks another step in its effort to bring trading products that have largely developed in offshore crypto markets into the regulated U.S. financial system. If regulators clear the proposal, the stock-linked perpetuals would be offered through Coinbase Derivatives, the unit behind both the CFTC filing and the SEC Form1-N registration.

Source: BitcoinKE