Coinbase submitted a comment letter to the CFTC and SEC on August 25, responding to their joint Request for Comment on how to define « swap » and « security-based swap. » The exchange’s core argument is that the current regulatory overlap between the two agencies creates a jurisdictional fog that keeps innovative derivatives products stuck offshore while the rest of the world trades them freely. Coinbase proposed three specific recommendations: alternative compliance frameworks allowing exchanges already regulated by one agency to meet certain requirements of the other, classification of equity perpetual derivatives as security futures, and permission for either CFTC or SEC-regulated exchanges to list securities-related event contracts. The platform makes these arguments from a position of direct regulatory involvement, operating entities spanning both agencies’ jurisdictions: Coinbase Derivatives (CFTC), Coinbase Financial Markets (CFTC), and Coinbase Capital Markets (SEC). The CFTC has taken steps between 2025 and 2026 to bring perpetual-style contracts onshore, and the alternative compliance framework proposal could particularly lower barriers to entry for smaller firms.
Source: Read the original article
