Derivatives

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission registered Coinbase Clearing LLC on September 28, 2026, as a derivatives clearing organization, or DCO, the entity that clears trades and handles the resulting settlement obligations. Its authority covers fully collateralized futures, options on futures, and swaps. That funding condition is the key limit in the CFTC registry entry. For a US trader, the significance is practical: Coinbase can bring clearing for this category of contracts into its own infrastructure. The money committed to a position, the institution settling it, and the records left by collateral transactions still matter. ...

Your Bitcoin can already count as margin at a qualifying US futures broker. But how much counts? In specified customer-account calculations, the haircut is generally at least 20%. That means a $100,000 crypto holding can contribute just $80,000 of recognized collateral value before its market price falls. Now the CFTC has clarified another part of the plumbing: how tokenized versions of permitted investments fit inside the rules governing customer funds. For American traders, the useful question is what your broker can accept, what it can do with customer cash, and how quickly your collateral cushion can shrink. ...

In August 2026, Cboe BZX Exchange filed a proposed rule change with the SEC seeking approval for the first U.S. 3x leveraged Bitcoin ETF — and a matching 3x Ether fund. If approved, it would mark a brand-new product category for American investors: triple-leveraged crypto exposure inside a regulated, exchange-traded wrapper. The filing landed the same week spot Bitcoin ETFs were still pulling in steady inflows, which tells you where the industry thinks demand is heading. ...

Crypto Futures Trading: Complete Beginner’s Guide (2026) Futures trading is where crypto gets serious. You can profit whether prices go up or down, use leverage to amplify gains, and hedge your spot holdings against market drops. But the same leverage that multiplies profits also magnifies losses — and liquidations happen fast. This guide explains how crypto futures work, compares US-regulated platforms, breaks down the tax rules that make futures different from spot, and walks through your first trade. If you’re a US-based trader, the regulatory landscape covered here affects every position you open. ...