Coinbase Expands Derivatives Market with New Altcoin Offerings

Coinbase is expanding its derivatives exchange by introducing futures contracts for popular altcoins, including Shiba Inu, Polkadot, Stellar, Avalanche, and Chainlink.

The company revealed this through a series of applications submitted to the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on June 28.

Coinbase Continues Financial Products Diversification

Coinbase claims these derivatives offerings will help clients manage risks, speculate on price movements, and engage with reduced upfront capital. The firm furthered that the move will improve its users’ overall trading experience with a diverse product suite.

The applications indicate that Coinbase chose self-certification under CFTC Regulation 40.2(a). This choice speeds up the listing process by bypassing direct CFTC approval. If approved, the new products could launch on or after July 15 and increase the firm’s financial products offering to 15, including 13 crypto-related and three non-crypto products like gold and crude oil.

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Meanwhile, Coinbase highlighted the unique features of each new offering. Avalanche, the asset with the largest market capitalization among the five, supports custom blockchain networks or subnets. This makes it attractive for DeFi projects, digital collectibles, and other blockchain-based applications.

The Brian Amrstong-led exchange said it selected Shiba Inu because of its rising significance among memecoins. According to the firm, the project’s team is working on expanding its utility beyond being “highly speculative and volatile” by focusing on real-world applications. These moves, it argued, will contribute to its long-term sustainability and relevance in the crypto space.

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Coinbase chose Chainlink because it is popular among developers for enhancing smart contract functionality with real-world data. It stated that it picked Stellar because its native currency can act as a bridge for cross-border transactions. Polkadot was selected because it is uniquely capable of achieving true interoperability between different blockchains.

“Coinbase Derivatives is excited to lead market accessibility, as the first U.S. futures exchange to offer margined futures contracts for these assets and we look forward to seeing the maturation of these derivatives contracts in a regulated market,” the firm added.