- Coinbase now offers 24/7 BTC and ETH futures trading, expanding access and flexibility for U.S. retail traders globally.
- Coinbase adds new crypto and commodity futures plus plans perpetual BTC and ETH futures to meet rising regulated derivatives demand.
- After a cyberattack exposing some customer data, Coinbase faces $180-$400M costs and a 7% drop in share price.
With new products and 24/7 access, Coinbase Financial Markets (CFM) is changing the futures trading scene, the business said in a press release. U.S. traders can now trade Bitcoin and Ethereum futures around the clock. This marks a shift from the previous Sunday-to-Friday availability. Hence, users now have more flexibility to manage trades and mitigate risks in real-time. Besides BTC and ETH, Coinbase also plans to extend 24/7 trading access to SOL and XRP futures in the coming weeks.
CFM has also expanded its range of futures products. Cryptocurrency contracts like SOL, XRP, ADA, and HBAR are now available to traders. In addition, CFM now offers commodities futures, such as silver and natural gas, in addition to its current holdings in gold and oil. Soon, traders will also be able to speculate on equities indices through futures contracts, marking a bold expansion beyond crypto.
Perpetual Futures Coming to U.S. Traders
Coinbase Advanced will soon introduce perpetual-style BTC and ETH futures to U.S. customers. This new feature addresses the growing demand for flexible crypto derivatives in a regulated setting. The platform has also implemented tools to enhance trading efficiency and experience. For example, auto-sweeping of excess funds back to Coinbase, Inc. has gone live. Additionally, auto-rolling of expiring positions uses smart algorithms for optimized execution.
Moreover, new order types such as take-profit/stop-loss and time-weighted average price (TWAP) are now available. Coinbase will soon release editable limit orders and a new margin health metric to help users manage liquidation risks.
Cyberattack Triggers Fallout
However, this wave of innovation comes amid a serious cybersecurity incident. On May 11, a threat actor contacted Coinbase claiming access to internal documents and customer data. The hackers demanded a $20 million ransom and had obtained the information by bribing overseas contractors and support staff.
The breach affected a small subset of users and exposed names, emails, and government ID images. Fortunately, passwords and private keys remained secure. Coinbase has fired the involved individuals and alerted law enforcement. The exchange confirmed it will reimburse affected customers. Consequently, Coinbase now faces estimated costs between $180 million and $400 million. The incident also triggered a sharp 7% drop in Coinbase Global’s share price.
