U.S. regulators just unlocked crypto perps — long Coinbase as the biggest winner
The top U.S. derivatives regulator just greenlit crypto perpetual futures contracts to trade on American soil for the first time. Coinbase and Kalshi received specific approvals, which means a massive new revenue stream is opening up for these platforms.
Idea
Perpetual futures are the most popular crypto trading product in the world, but until now they've only existed on offshore exchanges like Binance. Bringing them onshore to regulated U.S. platforms is a huge deal because it unlocks a product category that generates billions in fees globally. Coinbase is the biggest direct beneficiary — they already received a no-action letter from the CFTC, essentially a regulatory green light. This isn't a one-day story; building out perpetual futures trading will drive trading volume and fee revenue for quarters to come. The stock may not gap up dramatically on day one because the crypto market is distracted by Bitcoin ETF outflows, which creates an opportunity to get in before the revenue impact shows up in earnings.