Coinbase Opens Offshore Crypto Derivatives Exchange

U.S.-based crypto trading firm Coinbase is opening a derivatives exchange in Bermuda as part of an international expansion plan that comes as the publicly traded firm faces regulatory headwinds at home.

Called Coinbase International Exchange, the new facility will initially let traders bet on the price of bitcoin and ether via perpetual futures contracts with up to five times leverage and all trades will settle in the stablecoin USDC. In a blog post Coinbase said trading has begun.

The move represents Coinbase's latest foray into derivative trading, one of the most popular corners of the global crypto market despite being effectively iced out of the U.S., where such activities require hefty oversight.

"Rest assured that Coinbase is committed to the U.S., but countries around the world are increasingly moving forward with responsible crypto-forward regulatory frameworks to strategically position themselves as crypto hubs," Coinbase said in a blog post. "We would like to see the U.S. take a similar approach instead of regulation by enforcement, which has led to a disappointing trend for crypto development in the U.S."

Those pressures are prompting other U.S. based crypto companies to look offshore, too. Also Tuesday, Gemini announced the launch of its own international crypto derivatives exchange.