Coinbase Launches International Crypto Exchange
- Called Coinbase International Exchange (CIE), the new platform will allow institutional users outside of the U.S. to bet on the price of crypto via perpetual futures.
- The platform will not be available to retail customers “at this time”, and will initially provide trading of only BTC and ETH perpetual futures, settled in the USDC stablecoin.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong at Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit, October 2019.Vanity Fair
U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase has started its international expansion plan with the launch of its own derivatives exchange in Bermuda, the company said in a blog post on 2 May.
According to the announcement, Coinbase International Exchange (CIE) will allow institutional users outside the U.S. to bet on the price of crypto through perpetual futures — which accounted for nearly 75% of global crypto trade volume in 2022 — with up to five times leverage. The platform — which is not available to retail customers “at this time” — will initially provide trading for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) perpetual futures that will be settled in the USDC stablecoin.
Coinbase’s international platform is established in Bermuda, where the company was able to acquire a license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) in April 2023. Bermuda was chosen as the home of CIE due to its regulatory environment, which Coinbase says is “long known for a high level of rigor, transparency, compliance, and cooperation”.
Coinbase is not the only U.S.-based exchange to launch an international platform in recent days. Winklevoss-owned Gemini announced the launch of its own international crypto derivatives platform, called Gemini Foundation, earlier this week. The platform will initially provide trading for BTC perpetual contracts in 30 jurisdictions around the world.
Rumors of Coinbase’s international plans appeared just a few days before the company announced it had received a Wells notice — a letter warning a company of potential enforcement action — from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Last month, Coinbase filed a lawsuit against the SEC in order to receive a yes or no response to a rulemaking petition it filed with the regulator back in July 2022.
- A little over $13 million in altcoins were sent to crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase in the past 24 hours, which is in accordance with a September court order.
- The court ordered a phased liquidation process, which allows the bankruptcy estate to sell $3.4 billion worth of digital assets over a certain period of time.
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- An investigation from the New York Attorney General’s office has allegedly found that Gemini was aware of Genesis’ weak financial position, but still lied to investors.
- The lawsuit is looking to ban DCG, Genesis, and Gemini from the New York financial industry, seek restitutions for investments, and the return of “ill-gotten gains”.
- Coinbase’s Base blockchain was made available to the public on Wednesday, featuring over 100 dApps and services as part of its ecosystem.
- In order to show its capabilities and promote its mainnet partners, Base has also launched an event called “Onchain Summer” that will allow users to mint exclusive NFTs on the network.