Coinbase has finished folding its International Exchange into Deribit, giving institutional clients Deribit's crypto options suite and margin system. US-based Coinbase Prime clients follow a separate rollout, with options trading expected in the fourth quarter.
Coinbase has completed the integration of its International Exchange with Deribit, moving institutional accounts to one derivatives venue. CEO Brian Armstrong said on Oct. 11 that the "Deribit integration is complete."
Coinbase's migration guide dates the transfer of accounts, positions and balances to Oct. 1, bringing together liquidity previously split between the two platforms. Eligible International Exchange institutions can now trade listed bitcoin and ether options alongside perpetuals and dated futures.
What changes for clients
Coinbase Bermuda Limited acts as broker and custodian for these institutions, routes orders to Deribit for execution and remains their primary counterparty, according to the migration FAQ. Coinbase Institutional promoted the offering on Oct. 7 as combining US and international derivatives in one collateral pool.
However, migrated accounts default to Cross Standard Margin, which pools collateral currencies within an account. Bitcoin holdings can therefore support ether-settled positions, for example. Margin requirements are still calculated for each position and added together, and haircuts and collateral fees apply when collateral differs from the settlement currency.
Clients can instead choose portfolio-margin modes that assess risk across positions, or segregated modes that keep assets separate. The choice changes how much collateral a trading portfolio requires.
US clients and clearing routes
U.S.-based Coinbase Prime clients have a separate rollout. Coinbase's guide, updated Oct. 2, says onboarding is open for options through Coinbase Financial Markets, its U.S. futures broker, with trading expected in the fourth quarter. Deribit's direct-platform restrictions still include the United States.
The integration follows Coinbase's Sept. 28 announcement of CFTC approval for Coinbase Clearing. The company said the new subsidiary could settle fully collateralized contracts directly, using USDC collateral and 24/7 settlement, and that it would retain outside partners for margined derivatives.
Coinbase's U.S. perpetual-style futures documentation continues to name Nodal Clear as the clearinghouse. For Coinbase Financial Markets' planned foreign-market offering, the CFTC said in May that staff had issued conditional no-action relief covering customer-owned crypto and payment stablecoins posted as margin with a foreign broker affiliate for futures and options on Deribit FZE.
Source: The Defiant
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