Coinbase derivatives arm set to launch Dogecoin futures amid memecoin mania

Coinbase Derivatives quietly filed for a series of futures products earlier this month, including a Dogecoin futures product.

The filings to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which still need to be approved, have gone under the radar amid the latest round of memecoin mania.

Doge futures

The filings were made by Coinbase Derivatives, a separate entity originally known as FairX when Coinbase acquired the firm in January 2022.

“Welp, this was inevitable,” Sean Tuffy, the regulation banker-turned-memelord, said in a post on X Wednesday.

Tuffy highlighted a possible new phase in the CFTC’s oversight of crypto.

“Will be fun to see the spotlight be back on the CFTC now that they’re presumably gonna have to deal with a bunch of these applications,” Tuffy added. “It’s all fun and games being the cool uncle with the crypto gang, until you have to make some actual decisions.”

The crypto industry has seen the CFTC as a friendlier regulator than the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has adopted a hostile stance against the industry and fired off a barrage of enforcement actions against it.

Coinbase Derivatives expects to offer the products from April 1, according to the filings. Whether registered brokers on the platform will be able to give investors access to the products is another matter, according to a source with knowledge of the subject.

Through its acquisition of FairX, a designated contract market, Coinbase Derivatives can self-certify listings.

Wen trading?

However, it’s unclear whether Coinbase can then solicit these products to clients through its partner platform, Coinbase Financial Markets.

“Coinbase Derivatives will launch the first leveraged and CFTC-regulated futures contracts for Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, and Litecoin in April,” the firm said in a post on X on Thursday.

The firm filed to list these products on March 7.

Coinbase Financial Markets received approval from the National Futures Association, a registered futures association supervised by the CFTC in August.

The approval allows the firm to operate as a Futures Commission Merchant and to offer eligible customers access to crypto futures products.

It’s yet to be determined whether eligible investors on Coinbase’s brokerage platform will be able to buy and sell these products from April.

“Stay tuned to find out when these contracts will be available to trade on our partner platforms,” Coinbase said on X.

Memecoins, primarily on the Solana blockchain, have attracted billions of dollars in trading volume throughout March as investors flocked to a host of newly minted cryptocurrencies in search of record gains.

Crypto market movers

• Bitcoin gained 5.7% to trade above $66,500 on Thursday.
• Ethereum added 8.9% as it changed hands for around $3,500.

What we’re reading

• Why Bitcoin can’t pose a threat to the global order, according to new research — DL News
• Binance execs to spend 16 more days in Nigerian custody without charges after court ruling — DL News
• SEC Investigating Ethereum Foundation Regarding Proof-of-Stake Transition: Report — Unchained
• U.S. Firms Receive Subpoenas As SEC Seeks To Classify Ethereum As A Security — Milk Road
• Apple Co-Founder Wins Crucial Appeal In YouTube Lawsuit Over Bitcoin Scam — Milk Road

Tyler Pearson is a junior markets correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at ty@dlnews.com.