The Coinbase exchange began today, March 9, 2026, the deployment of regulated futures operations for Coinbase Advanced users in member countries of the European Union (EU).
The service is offered directly through the entity, which is regulated under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), allowing Coinbase Advanced to trade derivatives linked to bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies in countries such as France, Germany and the Netherlands.
Coinbase Advanced is intended for more experienced traders and offers technical analysis tools. Precisely by operating under MiFID, the products comply with the European requirements for transparency and investor protection that apply to traditional investment services, according to the company.
Among the instruments available on the platform are futures contracts. They are those that facilitate taking positions on the future price of bitcoin and other digital assets, without needing to own the underlying asset. The offering covers cryptocurrency futures, index futures such as the Mag7 + Crypto Equity Index and perpetual contracts with a 5-year maturity.
Regarding contracts settled in cash, the following stand out: two main modalities. On the one hand, perpetual contracts—with a 5-year maturity—use an hourly funding rate mechanism and are settled daily to keep the contract price aligned with that of the underlying asset.
On the other hand, there are contracts with fixed maturity, that establish monthly or quarterly expiration dates. These are adjusted daily to market value according to official settlement prices and, if held until maturity, are settled in cash.
Users will be able to operate with various cryptocurrency contracts, from bitcoin to solana.
They seek to resolve regulatory limitations
Access to the service requires that users residing in eligible countries pass verification processes, which include eligibility assessment – such as previous trading experience –, KYC (know your customer) identification and other compliance checks. Once approved, the accounts They are financed with euros or the USDC stablecoin.
Coinbase’s plan, with the incorporation of regulated bitcoin futures, is integrated into the progressive expansion of derivative products in the European region. This, taking advantage of the fact that has regulatory approval to operate in the 26 EU member states.
Consequently, the idea is to serve an audience that is limited for not having regulated platforms. “European traders have historically turned to unregulated platforms for cryptocurrency derivatives products due to regulatory complexities,” notes the Coinbase team.
In this way, the initiative positions Coinbase as a strong player in the European derivatives market, expanding its offering beyond the direct exchange of assets and trying to attract traders looking for long-term hedging strategies.
This launch comes in a context in which Coinbase shares closed lower on March 6, 2026 ($197 per share), with premarket quotes on March 9 around $194, as seen in the graph.
Despite this, the company continues with the development of diversified services covering both digital assets and traditional finance
As NoticiasVE reported, Coinbase users in the United States can now trade fractions of shares. In parallel, the company offers prediction markets in collaboration with Kalshi, although these are only available in that country.
The company has mentioned plans to incorporate tools related to real-world assets (RWA) and tokenization, with availability varying depending on local regulations.