Coinbase Gets CFTC Approval for Coinbase Clearing, a USDC-Native Clearinghouse
The CFTC approved Coinbase Clearing LLC as a derivatives clearing organization in September 2026, giving Coinbase its own exchange, broker and clearinghouse.
Coinbase announced on September 28, 2026 that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had approved the registration of Coinbase Clearing LLC as a derivatives clearing organization (DCO). Coinbase calls it the first USDC-native clearinghouse.
The full derivatives stack
With this approval, Coinbase holds all three parts of a US regulated derivatives business:
| Role | Entity |
|---|---|
| Futures Commission Merchant (broker) | Coinbase Financial Markets, Inc. |
| Designated Contract Market (exchange) | Coinbase Derivatives, LLC |
| Derivatives Clearing Organization | Coinbase Clearing LLC |
What changes
Coinbase Clearing uses USDC as collateral and settles 24/7. For the first time, Coinbase can create and settle fully collateralized contracts itself, which it says will speed up product development and let it bring new regulated products to market.
Coinbase will keep using outside partners for some products, including its margined derivatives business and its planned single-stock perpetuals.
Context
Kraken's parent Payward agreed earlier in 2026 to buy Bitnomial, which holds a similar set of CFTC licenses. General Counsel Molly Abraham said the approval "completes Coinbase's end-to-end derivatives infrastructure."
Source: Official exchange announcement
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