Coinbase suggests clarifying the regulatory framework for perpetual contracts to drive related trading back to the United States.

Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad disclosed that Coinbase has submitted comments in response to the joint request for comments from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the definition of perpetual derivatives and alternative compliance mechanisms. Coinbase recommends classifying equity perpetual contracts as securities futures and advocates for the establishment of an alternative compliance framework to address issues such as dual registration, redundant regulatory oversight, and liquidity fragmentation between the SEC and CFTC. Coinbase noted that complex existing regulatory definitions and overlapping agency jurisdictions have kept actively traded perpetual derivatives in the U.S. market in a prolonged state of regulatory uncertainty. Clarifying product classifications and establishing a unified regulatory framework aligned with associated risks would help bring relevant products currently accessed by U.S. investors through offshore platforms under domestic regulation, while simultaneously strengthening U.S. competitiveness in financial innovation.