Coinbase Applies to Trade Crypto Futures Amid Derivatives Surge

Olga Kharif, Bloomberg News

A monitor displays Coinbase signage during the company's initial public offering (IPO) at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. Coinbase Global Inc., the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, is set to debut on Wednesday through a direct listing, an alternative to a traditional initial public offering that has only been deployed a handful of times. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Coinbase Global Inc. is planning to jump into cryptocurrency derivatives.

The U.S.’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange filed an application with the National Futures Association on Wednesday to register as a futures commission merchant. The company is registering as Coinbase Financial Markets Inc., the filing showed.

Cryptocurrency futures and options have long been a glaring hole in Coinbase’s product portfolio, while Bitcoin derivatives have become a huge market. Most of the world’s other exchanges, such as Binance, OKEx, FTX and even some U.S.-based companies -- CME Group Inc. and Kraken -- offer them, though Kraken only offers the products to non-U.S. users. Many U.S. exchanges have stayed away due to regulatory uncertainty.

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. was the first to list Bitcoin futures in 2017, though it got outrun by CME Group Inc., whose products gained wider acceptance.

Earlier this year, Coinbase bought Skew, an analytics company best known for tracking the derivatives market.