Coinbase Opens UK Derivatives Trading With Up to 50x Leverage

Coinbase is opening derivatives trading to professional investors in the UK, announcing on Tuesday more than 170 contracts spanning crypto, commodities, equities and foreign exchange, with leverage of up to 50 times.

The offering covers three contract types, according to a post by UK and international vice president Keith Grose. Perpetuals span the full 170-plus assets, carry no expiry date, trade around the clock and go up to 50x leverage.

Dated futures settle on fixed dates, price cost-of-carry in at entry instead of charging funding rates, and cap out at 20x. Crypto options, limited to crypto underlyings, cover calls and puts across single and multi-leg strategies, with payoff diagrams built into the interface.

Only investors classified as professional clients will qualify, and Coinbase said the rollout will be progressive. The Financial Conduct Authority has barred the sale of crypto derivatives to UK retail consumers since 2021, leaving offshore venues as the main route for individual traders.

The launch rests on the investment services authorization, commonly called a MiFID licence, that Coinbase secured from the FCA on July 7, which cleared it to offer instruments beyond crypto. Coinbase had already taken crypto futures into 26 European countries in March under MiFID II, at leverage of up to 10 times.

Grose framed the launch as part of the firm’s "Everything Exchange" strategy, an attempt to fold crypto, stocks, derivatives and prediction markets into one app. Coinbase said global crypto derivatives volume routinely runs at 4.4 times that of spot markets, a gap it argues leaves professional traders reliant on venues outside regulated markets.