Coinbase backs $4.3M seed round for upcoming crypto derivatives exchange Blade

Exchanges • August 13, 2019, 3:45AM EDT
The Block

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has backed a $4.3 million seed funding round for upcoming cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Blade.

The round also saw participation from venture firms SV Angel, A.Capital and Slow Ventures, among others, according to a report from TechCrunch on Monday.

Blade is “three weeks away” from launch, and will offer to trade in perpetual swap contracts. The exchange’s website shows that it will provide “up to 150X” leverage for bitcoin and altcoins perpetuals with settlement in Tether (USDT) stablecoin and bitcoin.

Perpetuals are “arguably the fastest growing segment of cryptocurrency trading,” Blade CEO, Jeff Byun, was quoted as saying in the report. “In the long term, we want to be the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) of crypto.”

Blade won’t be available to U.S. residents due to stricter regulations in the country, and also because “most of the volume” comes from non-U.S. markets.