On Thursday, June 1, Coinbase, the biggest crypto exchange in the United States announced the launch of its institutional exchange, specifically targeted towards institutional players.
Next week on June 5, the CFTC-regulated crypto exchange Coinbase will launch Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) futures contracts. As Coinbase is launching these products specifically for institutional players, the futures contracts will be sized at 1 Bitcoin and 10 Ethereum, thus allowing its clients to manage the exposure.
Coinbase said that the decision to launch the products come as it received a strong response for its nano Bitcoin (BIT) and nano Ether (ET) contracts. However, this time, Coinbase Derivatives Exchange will be addressing the need of institutional investors through its innovative solutions. The official announcement from Coinbase reads:
With the launch of these institutional-sized USD-settled contracts, we look to empower institutional participants with greater precision in managing crypto exposure, expressing directional views, or tracking Bitcoin and Ether returns in a capital-efficient way.
The announcement further reads:
Coinbase Derivatives Exchange is committed to delivering innovative solutions that cater specifically to the needs of institutional investors. Introducing institutional-sized contracts marks another milestone in our ongoing mission to provide accessible and cutting-edge financial instruments to market participants and underscores our dedication to solutions tailored to the needs of institutional clients.
Crypto exchange Coinbase is considering expanding its institutional offerings at a time when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been going hard after crypto market players. In fact, the SEC has also accused Coinbase of facilitating the trade of digital assets that are unregistered securities.
Along with enhanced precision and risk management, the institutional-sized BTC and ETH futures contracts from Coinbase will have significantly lower fees than the traditional offerings. Thus, it will allow institutions to maximize their capital efficiency.
With reduced trading costs, Coinbase Derivatives Exchange seeks to create an environment fostering greater accessibility and participation. Coinbase believes that this would ultimately benefit the entire crypto eco.
To offer its institutional customers a smooth trading experience, Coinbase has joined hands with institutional-leading FCMs, brokers, and front-end providers. They would help in facilitating the seamless trading of these futures contracts. The exchange noted.
Coinbase recently revealed its intention to expand internationally by launching a derivatives exchange in Bermuda. As part of this expansion, the exchange will initially offer perpetual futures contracts with 5X leverage, enabling traders to speculate on the prices of BTC and ETH. Notably, all trades on the exchange will be settled using Circle’s stablecoin, USDC.
Last month, Coinbase also joined hands with the trading platform Bitpanda as part of its efforts to connect to more European banks seeking to offer digital assets to their customers
