Coinbase Financial Markets became the first US-regulated futures commission merchant (FCM) cleared to connect domestic clients to global crypto perpetuals and options markets, the exchange said May 29, opening access to a multi-trillion dollar category previously closed to US traders.

New guidance from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) cleared the path. Institutional clients gain regulated access to instruments that account for roughly 80% of global crypto trading volume, and Prime client onboarding began immediately.

Why US Traders Lost Access for Years

Until now, US customers had no compliant route to perpetual swaps and crypto options, the two largest categories of digital-asset trading.

Many…