Coinbase Launches 24/7 Perpetual Futures for Four Stocks

By Marcus Bennett

Coinbase launched four equity perpetual futures—BMNR, WDC, RKLB and AAOI—that trade 24/7. They settle in USDC, the dollar-pegged stablecoin, daily at 08:00 UTC.

The launch follows recent U.S. regulatory clarity from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on equity perpetual futures.

Retail users can use leverage up to 5×, while institutional users can reach 10×. The contracts extend Coinbase’s equity-perpetual lineup beyond earlier offerings tied to the “Magnificent 7,” the cluster of giant technology names that dominates broad stock indexes. The new set spans a blockchain-focused company, a data-storage company, a space launch business and a fiber-optics specialist.

The benefit is easiest to see on a weekend. If news breaks about a Rocket Lab launch on Saturday, a trader can use the RKLB perpetual to react before the Monday opening bell. Traditional stock exchanges close in the evening and on weekends. These markets do not.

That continuity carries a crucial distinction. Because the products are derivatives, holders do not own the underlying shares. They receive no dividends and no voting rights. Traders gain market exposure without bringing shareholder rights or direct equity ownership into the position.

Leverage determines how much of the underlying move reaches posted collateral. At 5×, a 10% move in the stock becomes roughly a 50% swing on the trader’s posted collateral. The cap depends on whether the trader is retail or institutional: 5× for retail users and 10× for institutions.

The four underlyings serve different purposes:

• BMNR — Bitmine Immersion Technologies: A blockchain-focused company and, among the four, the most natural fit for Coinbase’s crypto audience.
• WDC — Western Digital: A data-storage company in a traditional technology sector.
• RKLB — Rocket Lab: A space launch company whose news can arise outside conventional market hours.
• AAOI — Applied Optoelectronics: An established fiber-optics company in a traditional technology sector.

The timing also fits Coinbase’s broader ambition to become an “everything exchange”: one platform, one account and access to crypto, stocks and derivatives side by side. The new selection broadens the exchange’s stock universe beyond the Magnificent 7.

What does this change for traders?

For retail traders, the clearest benefit is access outside normal trading hours. The Saturday Rocket Lab scenario shows how the 24/7 schedule can let traders respond to company news before the next cash-market open. That expands when they can trade, not what they own.

For institutions, the 10× ceiling and USDC settlement could make the contracts useful as hedging or positioning tools. A desk already holding stablecoins can express a view on Western Digital without moving funds into a traditional brokerage account. That shortens the route from an existing stablecoin balance to an equity-linked position.

Those access and leverage choices do not alter the contract’s basic structure. Holders have no direct shares, dividends or voting rights. The trading window and collateral format change; shareholder rights do not.

The market-structure change is immediate: Coinbase users can now maintain equity-linked exposure through evenings and weekends without owning shares. How CFTC’s recent regulatory clarity is applied as this product category develops will show whether around-the-clock equity trading becomes a routine venue feature.