Junk bonds

If Coinbase gets approval from the National Futures Association, it will then need to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to get the green light.

Top U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase has submitted an application to become a registered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the National Futures Association (NFA).

Details are sparse, but according to the NFA website the pending application was submitted on Sept. 15 under the name “Coinbase Global Inc.”

Coinbase highlighted the move via Twitter on Sept. 16 and stated that “this is the next step to broaden our offerings and offer futures and derivatives trading on our platforms. Goal: Further grow the crypto economy.”

If Coinbase becomes an approved FCM member under the NFA, the firm will then need to register with U.S. derivatives regulator the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to get the green light.

Related: President Biden announces picks to fill CFTC vacancies

The crypto derivatives markets dwarf the size of spot markets, and despite an abundance of regulatory FUD derivatives have exploded in popularity in 2021. According to data from CoinGecko the market processed more than $143 billion over the past 24 hours. Binance, FTX and Bybit currently lead the pack in terms of 24-hour open interest, with $10.1 billion, $6.8 billion and $3.8 billion respectively.

Coinbase will be hoping its move to futures and derivatives goes a lot smoother than its plans to offer a USD coin (USDC) lending product, after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) threatened to sue the company if it went through with the launch.

According to a Sept. 15 report from The Economic Times, Coinbase also sold $2 billion worth of junk-bonds this week in an offering that saw $7 billion worth of orders placed for seven and 10-year bonds.