American crypto traders just got a new toy box. The CFTC has confirmed that Coinbase Financial Markets, a futures commission merchant registered with the regulator, can now offer certain Deribit futures contracts to US customers through its foreign affiliate.
The move essentially bridges the gap between one of the world’s largest crypto derivatives exchanges, which operates out of Dubai, and the domestic US market, which has historically been walled off from most offshore trading platforms.
How the plumbing works
Coinbase Financial Markets, or CFM, is the entity doing the heavy lifting here. It’s a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant and a member of the National Futures Association, which means it sits under the same regulatory umbrella as traditional commodity brokers.
US customers trade Deribit contracts through their CFM accounts, not directly on the Dubai-based exchange. The distinction matters because it means these trades fall under CFTC customer protections, including rules around how funds are held and bankruptcy safeguards that wouldn’t apply if traders were simply accessing Deribit on their own.
