Deribit, Coinbase's global derivatives venue, already accounts for 96.6% of the open interest displayed on Coinbase's derivatives dashboard, according to data retrieved on September 1. The concentration significantly exceeds the positions scheduled to migrate from Coinbase's International Exchange on September 9.
A snapshot of Coinbase's derivatives dashboard showed $40.65 billion in daily open interest across three venues on September 1 at 15:42 UTC. Deribit held $39.26 billion, Coinbase Derivatives held $1.17 billion, and International Exchange held $226.98 million.
What Migrates on September 9
The September 9 transfer covers the $226.98 million International Exchange book, client accounts, and trading infrastructure. The $39.26 billion already at Deribit will remain there. Coinbase cautions that the migration date depends on client readiness and regulatory approvals and remains subject to change.
The cutover is expected to cause approximately 30 minutes of downtime, though International Exchange currently represents less than 1% of displayed open interest.
Operational Changes for Traders
Institutional traders will experience changes to settlement and funding mechanics following the migration. International Exchange perpetual contracts settle every five minutes, while Deribit settles once daily at 08:00 UTC. Funding accrual also differs: International Exchange applies funding hourly without a rate cap, while Deribit accrues funding continuously with rate caps of 0.5% for BTC, 1% for ETH, and 5% for stablecoin-related contracts in either direction.
All open International Exchange orders will be canceled during migration. Positions will settle at the mark price with profit and loss crystallized, with resulting balances transferred and positions recreated on Deribit at the same settlement price through matched migration trades.
International Exchange API endpoints will cease supporting trading after September 9. Clients will need new Deribit credentials for REST, WebSocket, FIX, or SBE connections. International Exchange APIs are expected to preserve historical order and trade data for approximately 12 months.
Regulatory Framework
On May 29, Commodity Futures Trading Commission staff issued a conditional no-action position allowing Coinbase Financial Markets to post eligible customer-owned digital commodities and payment stablecoins through Coinbase Bermuda to Deribit for foreign-futures and foreign-options margin. This arrangement establishes Coinbase Financial Markets as the US-registered futures commission merchant, Coinbase Bermuda as the foreign broker, and Deribit FZE as the foreign venue.
The CFTC no-action position carries nine conditions, including requirements that entities remain wholly owned by Coinbase Global, that customers can access Deribit's audited financial statements and SOC 2 report, and that consolidated risk and information-security controls are maintained.
Custody and Counterparty Routes
For institutions with only an International Exchange account, Coinbase Bermuda Limited will act as broker and custodian, routing orders to Deribit for execution. Institutions already trading on both International Exchange and Deribit will use Coinbase Bermuda as custodian but trade directly with Deribit FZE as counterparty. Some clients continuing with third-party custody will move their trading relationship to Deribit Panama.
