Coinbase International has announced the launch of perpetual futures trading for $WIF, a memecoin based on Solana, for non-US users in certain jurisdictions starting April 25th. This move comes as part of Coinbase’s broader strategy to expand its offerings in the growing derivatives market.
Key Takeaways
- Coinbase International Exchange (CIE) and Coinbase Advanced will introduce perpetual futures trading for $WIF on April 25th at 9:30 UTC.
- The launch is limited to non-US users in selected jurisdictions.
- This follows a postponed launch of perpetual futures based on Pepe.
- Coinbase obtained regulatory approval last year to offer perpetual futures to non-US clients.
- The derivatives market saw an 86.5% increase in trading volumes last month, reaching $6.18 trillion.
Perpetual Futures Trading on $WIF
Coinbase International Exchange (CIE) and Coinbase Advanced are set to introduce perpetual futures trading for dogwifhat ($WIF +3.24%) by the end of this month. Trading services for non-US users will commence on April 25th at 9:30 UTC. This announcement was made by CIE in a post on X.
The introduction of perpetual futures trading for $WIF comes after Coinbase postponed its plans to launch perpetual futures based on Pepe. The opening of 1000PEPE-PERP on CIE was initially scheduled for April 18th.
Regulatory Approvals and Market Context
Coinbase’s push to launch a series of perpetual futures offerings on cryptocurrencies follows a year after obtaining regulatory approval to offer these products to non-US clients in selected jurisdictions. However, gaining similar approval in the United States has proven more complex, with American regulatory authorities showing caution in authorizing futures based on cryptocurrencies.
Last year, Coinbase received approval from the National Futures Association to offer cryptocurrency futures trading to a limited number of US retail traders through Coinbase Advanced.
Growth in the Derivatives Market
Coinbase is expanding its offerings of perpetual futures amid significant growth in the derivatives market. Last month, trading volumes of derivatives surged by 86.5%, reaching $6.18 trillion, according to CoinDesk.
Additional Developments
In related news, Coinbase and Binance have both added support for the new altcoin project Omni Network (OMNI), which aims to integrate the Ethereum rollup ecosystem into a unified network. Coinbase has labeled OMNI as "experimental," while Binance has added it to Binance Launchpool.
Additionally, Celsius Network, a cryptocurrency lending platform, recently transferred $24.5 million in Ethereum to Coinbase, marking one of the most substantial transfers in the industry. This move is part of Celsius Network’s financial recovery strategy, which includes repaying its crypto and fiat creditors a total of $3 billion.
Sources
- Coinbase adds new perpetual crypto futures trading on $WIF, The Cryptonomist.
