Coinbase to Launch Crypto Derivates in US, While Lawmakers Urge CFTC to Beef up Crypto Regulation

cryptonews.com:

The crypto exchange giant Coinbase wants to launch crypto derivatives products, but claims that it will do so in a “robust and holistic” manner, as part of a plan to help form a “regulated” derivatives market – but American lawmakers want tighter regulation in the sector.

In a blog post, Coinbase wrote that it had agreed to buy FairX, which it noted was a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated derivatives exchange. The deal is subject to “customary closing conditions and reviews,” and the exchange heavyweight said the deal should be complete by the end of the “first fiscal quarter.” It called the move its “next step toward creating the robust and holistic trading environment investors are seeking.”

It added that it now plans to “bring regulated crypto derivatives to market,” “initially” making use of FairX’s “existing partner ecosystem.” Coinbase added that it wants to make use of FairX’s infrastructure “to offer crypto derivatives to all Coinbase customers” in the United States.

“A healthy, well-regulated derivatives market,” Coinbase explained, “will be critical” for crypto’s “long-term success.”

But the CFTC may well be called into action before the deal is complete, if certain politicians get their way. 

The CFTC’s head has received an open letter penned by four leading Democrat and Republican Senators and Congress members, calling for action. The authors are Senators Debbie Stabenow and John Boozman from the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; and David Scott and Glenn Thompson of the House Committee on Agriculture.

The lawmakers opined that the regulator has a “critical role to play” in crypto regulation, and made mention of crypto derivatives – and their concerns in this regard.

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