Key Highlights
- Coinbase submitted a formal response to the SEC-CFTC joint request for comment on swaps, security-based swaps, and alternative compliance frameworks.
- The exchange urged regulators to establish clearer rules for perpetual derivatives and other overlapping financial products.
- Coinbase recommended treating equity perpetual derivatives as security futures.
Coinbase Global Inc., an American crypto exchange, submitted a formal response on Tuesday to a joint request for comment issued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the definitions of swaps and security-based swaps and alternative compliance frameworks for perpetual derivatives.
Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase’s chief policy officer, highlighted the filing on August 25, saying the company had submitted comments on product definitions and alternative compliance frameworks for perpetual derivatives.
Shirzad said Coinbase wants regulators to address overlapping jurisdiction and complex product definitions so more market activity can take place under U.S. regulatory oversight.
The letter was addressed to Christopher Kirkpatrick, secretary of the CFTC, and Vanessa Countryman, secretary of the SEC. It was signed by Scott Bauguess, Coinbase’s vice president of global regulatory policy, and Julia Hueckel, director of global regulatory policy.
What Coinbase proposed
In the letter, Coinbase stated that perpetual derivatives and prediction markets improve price discovery, liquidity, transparency, and capital formation by providing market participants with additional methods to make investments and manage risks.
The company argued that jurisdictional lines between the CFTC and SEC create inconsistent requirements for economically related products and limit the ability of market participants to offer and consolidate product offerings through a single U.S.-regulated technology stack.
Coinbase outlined three recommendations:
- Foster alternative compliance frameworks that promote customer choice, competition, and innovation.
- Regulate equity perpetual derivatives as security futures.
- Allow exchanges regulated by either commission to list securities-related event contracts.
The letter noted that the CFTC has already confirmed perpetual derivatives on digital asset commodities are futures, and that the same structural analysis should apply to equity underlyings.
Coinbase also supported an alternative compliance framework, observing that economically related products currently require separate registrations with both agencies and separate surveillance and result in fragmented liquidity.
Background on the SEC-CFTC request
Coinbase’s response follows a joint request for public comment issued by the SEC and CFTC on June 18, 2026.
The agencies said they were evaluating whether existing definitions, interpretations, and regulatory frameworks remain appropriate as financial markets evolve.
The request sought input on definitions related to swaps and security-based swaps, the treatment of mixed swaps, novel financial products, and broader jurisdictional questions between the two agencies. It also asked whether additional clarity was needed on regulatory boundaries and whether alternative compliance frameworks should be considered.
The review covers innovative financial products, including crypto derivatives and event contracts, as well as products that may fall within the regulatory scope of both agencies.
Coinbase’s position on regulatory overlap
Shirzad said the existing division of oversight can leave some actively traded financial products in what he described as “regulatory purgatory.” Coinbase’s response instead calls for clearer classifications and a framework that would allow related products to operate under a more consistent regulatory regime.
The recommendations are proposals submitted as part of the agencies’ public consultation and do not represent changes to existing SEC or CFTC rules.
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