Coinbase Plans 24/5 Leveraged Trading: How Single-Stock Perpetuals Could Transform the US Stock Market

Coinbase Derivatives filed an application with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday, September 17, 2026, seeking approval to offer Single-Stock Perpetual Futures. The initiative would provide US traders with access for the first time to leveraged derivative contracts on individual stocks that can be traded around the clock.

The planned contracts differ fundamentally from traditional stock investments: traders would gain economic exposure to price movements in individual stocks without owning the underlying securities or acquiring shareholder rights. According to the filing, the initial product offering would cover 50 to 60 individual stocks, explicitly including Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, and Nvidia.

24/5 trading with no expiration date

The product structure follows the perpetual futures model already dominant in the crypto market. A perpetual future is a derivative contract with no set expiration date that replicates price movements of an underlying asset. Unlike traditional futures with quarterly settlement dates, these contracts remain open indefinitely.

Coinbase plans trading hours of 24 hours daily, five days a week. Traders could thus react to US stock price movements outside regular market hours. The contracts would enable leveraged positions, although specific margin requirements have not yet been detailed. A funding mechanism (funding payments) is designed to ensure contract prices remain closely aligned with prices of the underlying stocks.

Dual regulatory strategy: SEC and CFTC

Coinbase is pursuing a two-track approval strategy for market launch. Single-stock futures sit at the regulatory intersection between securities and derivatives oversight, since their value is directly tied to publicly listed companies.

On September 1, 2026, Coinbase Derivatives filed Form 1-N with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to be recognized as a national securities exchange for security futures products. In parallel, the company's brokerage unit filed Forms BD-N. This SEC registration establishes the securities law foundation for products whose value is tied to individual publicly traded companies.

The CFTC filing from September 17, 2026 addresses the derivatives regulation side. Coinbase is specifically requesting approval there for listing the contracts, approving trading rules, and required surveillance protocols. The company classifies the planned products as single-stock futures under CFTC jurisdiction and thus applies an existing regulatory category adapted to the perpetual format.

International test phase since March 2026

Coinbase already gained operational experience with this product type: in March 2026, the company launched single-stock perpetual futures for eligible international traders, including contracts on Apple and Nvidia. US persons were explicitly excluded from this offering. The international test phase thus ran for approximately six months before Coinbase applied for US approval.

Even earlier, on July 21, 2025, Coinbase launched CFTC-regulated crypto perpetual futures for US customers through its Coinbase Financial Markets (CFM) unit. This approval established a regulatory precedent within the CFTC for perpetual structures. According to information from July 2025, approximately 90 percent of global trading volume in the crypto derivatives market consists of perpetual futures.

Reviving a dormant US market

The application targets a derivatives market that has essentially stalled in the US. Single-stock futures already existed in the US market structure but became inactive after the OneChicago platform halted trading in 2020. Coinbase is thus attempting to revive an existing product category rather than create an entirely new instrument.

The regulatory approach deliberately differs from treatment as a crypto-like derivative. Coinbase uses the regulatory framework already established for security futures and adapts it to a perpetual format. This reflects the intent to work closely with both regulatory bodies.

Distinction from related products

Single-stock perpetual futures differ from tokenized stocks, which are backed by actual securities. With Coinbase's contracts, traders would not acquire ownership of Apple, Tesla, or Nvidia shares.

Similarly, this is distinct from direct stock ownership: traders would gain economic exposure to a company's stock price but would not become shareholders and would not receive rights associated with owning the underlying shares, such as voting rights or dividends.

Compared to traditional equity futures with fixed expiration dates, perpetual contracts have no expiration. Instead, a funding mechanism ensures price alignment between the contract and the underlying asset.

Regulatory status and market outlook

The CFTC filing is currently (September 19, 2026) under review. No approval decision has been issued yet. The approval would determine whether and under what conditions these contracts could be offered to US customers.

Should the CFTC approve the application, it would establish a new product category in the US derivatives market and provide traders access to leveraged stock positions outside regular trading hours. The dual regulatory strategy involving both SEC and CFTC engagement demonstrates how crypto exchanges are increasingly integrating traditional financial products into their platforms.