Coinbase unveils 24/7 Bitcoin and Ethereum futures trading one day after announcing landmark Deribit acquisition

The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will offer 24/7 Bitcoin and Ethereum futures trading starting Friday, according to a company release.

Coinbase Derivatives, the firm's CFTC-regulated derivatives arm, will enable the round-the-clock futures contracts trading for both retail and institutional users, the release continues. The firm is providing execution and risk management support for its users' futures trading at all times, including weekends, so that users can react to price movements and market events outside of traditional market hours. All trades will be cleared through the CFTC-regulated clearinghouse Nodal Clear.

"We’ve been hard at work with the CFTC to provide traders with the first ever 24/7 Bitcoin and Ethereum futures contracts, and the time has finally come to make it a reality," Coinbase Derivatives CEO Boris Ilyevsky told The Block in an email.

Eventually, Coinbase Derivatives plans to add perpetual-style futures in the United States. Other firms assisting Coinbase Derivatives in its round-the-clock Bitcoin and Ethereum futures trading include Virtu Financial, ABN AMRO, Wedbush Securities and Coinbase Financial Markets.

Coinbase noted plans to launch 24/7 Bitcoin and Ethereum futures trading for U.S. users in March of this year.

"The arrival of 24/7 CFTC-regulated markets is a game-changer for the industry," said Coinbase Financial Markets CEO Andy Sears in a statement. "Coinbase Financial Markets is thrilled to be able to provide seamless, around-the-clock access to futures trading, empowering our customers to trade anytime on Coinbase Advanced."

Coinbase's round-the-clock futures contract trading comes one day after the firm announced it would purchase the derivatives exchange Deribit in a $2.9 billion landmark deal to bolster derivatives offerings.

Beyond Coinbase, the digital asset exchange Kraken has also expanded its derivatives offerings in the past few months. In April, Kraken launched two new foreign exchange perpetual futures contracts, GBP/USD and EUR/USD, on the firm's own derivatives platform at a 20x leverage. And just a few weeks later, Kraken launched a derivatives platform for professional users in the UK in the firm's broader effort to double down on derivatives, The Block previously reported.

By offering 24/7 Bitcoin futures trading, Coinbase is tapping into a trillion-dollar market. The Block's Data Dashboard shows the volume for Bitcoin futures hit $1.9 trillion in April, with $22.1 billion of that coming from Deribit.

The Block reached out to Coinbase for comment.