Coinbase is expanding its Canadian product lineup with futures contracts offering leverage of as much as 10x, extending a broader push by US trading companies into the country’s digital-asset market.
Eligible Canadian clients can trade 23 perpetual and dated cryptocurrency futures covering Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL) and other assets. Coinbase said Wednesday that its derivatives lineup also includes five commodity futures and the Coinbase 50 Index, with contracts available in nano-sized positions.
Trading is provided by Coinbase Financial Markets, which is registered with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a futures commission merchant. In Canada, the entity operates using foreign dealer and futures commission merchant exemptions.
The products are not available to all Canadian customers. Access includes investors with net financial assets of at least $5 million, along with registered investment advisers and dealers. Coinbase said it is the first major crypto-native platform to directly provide native crypto futures in the country.
US Trading Firms Build Out Canadian Crypto Operations
Coinbase’s derivatives expansion follows other moves by US trading companies to broaden their cryptocurrency operations in Canada, including Webull’s addition of crypto trading this week and Robinhood’s acquisition of WonderFi earlier this year.
Webull made digital assets available to Canadian customers on Monday, adding crypto to a product lineup that already included stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and options. The online brokerage is relying on Coinbase infrastructure for cryptocurrency trading and custody.
The expansion comes as cryptocurrency ownership in Canada has increased. Ontario Securities Commission research put ownership at 25% this year, up from 10% in 2023, a trend Webull cited as one factor behind its move into the market.
Robinhood took a different route into Canada, acquiring local crypto company WonderFi for US$180 million in June. The transaction brought exchanges Bitbuy and Coinsquare under Robinhood and added about 300,000 funded customers, along with WonderFi’s Canadian licenses and regulatory approvals.