CFTC Clears Coinbase to Route Global Crypto Perpetuals to U.S. Traders

Overview

• The CFTC issued a no-action letter on May 29, 2026 that lets Coinbase offer access to global perpetual futures for U.S. users through a foreign-futures routing tied to Deribit.
• Coinbase will connect U.S. customers to Deribit’s large order books with collateral held in USD or USDC inside Coinbase Financial Markets and will permit up to 10x leverage on its regulated perp listings.
• Kalshi separately received CFTC approval to list an onshore bitcoin perpetual contract, creating a second regulated U.S. path for perpetuals rather than a single market solution.
• Early-June liquidations that wiped out roughly $1.6 billion in positions show that regulated access reduces legal and counterparty risk but does not remove market, leverage, or automatic-liquidation risks.
• The relief is narrow and letter-based, so other exchanges must secure their own approvals; the move reconnects U.S. traders to dominant global pools but raises near-term operational questions about margining, clearing capacity, and surveillance.