Coinbase Expands Into Equities With 24/7 Stock Perpetual Futures

Coinbase is taking a big step beyond cryptocurrency, launching a new product that lets traders buy and sell traditional stocks - but with a crypto twist. They're offering special futures contracts that are tied to big US companies, and these can be traded all day and night by people outside of the US. This means that people who aren't in the US can now trade these stocks 24/7, which is a big change from how traditional stock markets work.

This decision is a big part of Coinbase's plan to become something much bigger. They want to create a place where people can do all kinds of financial transactions, both with regular money and with cryptocurrencies, all in one spot.

A New Way to Trade Big Tech Stocks

The newly launched contracts allow eligible international users to take leveraged positions on some of the biggest names in the market. This includes companies often grouped as the “Magnificent 7” — Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla.

In addition to individual stocks, Coinbase is also offering perpetual futures linked to major exchange-traded funds like those tracking the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100. That gives traders exposure not just to single companies, but to the broader market as well.

Unlike traditional futures, these contracts don’t expire. Traders can hold positions indefinitely, making them more flexible — and potentially more risky.

Leverage and 24/7 Access

One of the key features is leverage.

Trading with Coinbase just got a whole lot more interesting. They're now letting users trade single-stock perpetual futures with up to 10 times their money, while ETF-based products can go all the way up to 20 times. This means that any wins or losses will be massively amplified, which is something that people who trade crypto derivatives are already used to. It's a high-risk, high-reward situation that can either make you a lot of money or leave you with significant losses.

Another major difference from traditional markets is availability. These contracts trade 24/7, removing the time restrictions that come with standard stock exchanges.

All trades are settled in a special kind of money called USDC, which is like the US dollar, instead of using the actual assets being traded.

Competing With DeFi Platforms

Coinbase isn’t entering this space alone.

Demand for round-the-clock access to traditional financial markets has been growing, especially on decentralized platforms. One of the most notable players, Hyperliquid, has already introduced similar products, including perpetual futures tied to the S&P 500.

These online platforms have become really popular because they let people trade all the time and get into different kinds of investments, like commodities and stocks, which is something that old-school exchanges haven't been able to offer yet.

It seems like Coinbase is reacting to a change in the market by introducing its own version of something, likely a product or service that will help the company stay competitive.

Building the “Everything Exchange”

But if you look at the whole situation, what's really important is Coinbase's overall plan.

The company has been steadily expanding its offerings, aiming to bring multiple asset classes into one ecosystem. The new contracts also integrate with Coinbase’s existing risk engine, allowing for cross-margining between derivatives and spot positions.

This allows traders to handle collateral more smartly, making it easier to work with different markets, which is something that's been adopted from the way crypto trading works.

With this latest move, Coinbase is signalling that the line between crypto and traditional finance continues to blur — and it wants to be at the centre of that transition.

Coinbase Launches 24/7 Stock Futures for Non-U.S. Users

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