Coinbase has filed with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to launch perpetual futures contracts tied to major U.S. stocks, with plans to offer roughly 50 to 60 contracts if regulatory approval is secured.
The proposed lineup would include shares of companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Tesla and Nvidia, giving users the ability to trade price movements without directly purchasing the underlying stocks.
Unlike conventional stock ownership, these contracts would allow traders to take positions on whether a stock’s price rises or falls and use leverage. The structure would therefore provide exposure to equity price movements without transferring ownership of the underlying shares.
The proposed contracts would also have no expiration date. Coinbase plans to make them available around the clock, five days a week, subject to the necessary approval.
The structure creates an important distinction between trading exposure and owning the underlying asset. Holders of the perpetual contracts would not own the referenced shares and would not receive shareholder rights or dividends associated with direct stock ownership.
For Coinbase, the proposed product would extend its derivatives offering into major U.S. equities, potentially bringing stock-market exposure into a trading structure more commonly associated with derivatives markets. The combination of leverage, perpetual contracts and extended trading hours would give users a different mechanism for expressing views on individual stocks than conventional equity trading.
The key factor to watch is the regulatory process. If approval is granted, the number of contracts ultimately offered, the companies included and the availability of 24-hour trading will determine the scope of the proposed equity derivatives market.
