Coinbase Derivatives is expanding its partnership with the clearinghouse Nodal Clear to introduce Circle's stablecoin USDC into U.S. futures markets as eligible collateral.
On Wednesday, the companies announced that the $USDC will now be accepted as collateral for margin futures trading, a move designed to encourage the adoption of stablecoins in regulated derivatives markets.
The integration is subject to the approval of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and Coinbase Derivatives and Nodal Clear are working with the authority to introduce USDC into the U.S. futures market.
"This is expected to be the first regulated use case of USDC as collateral and Coinbase Custody Trust will be leveraged as the custodian," stated Coinbase Derivatives in the announcement.
"A true cash equivalent"
Coinbase Derivatives and Nodal Clear aim for the debut of USDC as eligible collateral for U.S. futures at some point in 2026.
Nodal Clear, a derivatives clearing organization regulated by the CFTC, is part of the EEX Group, which belongs to the German multinational Deutsche Börse. Coinbase Derivatives is also a designated contract market registered with the CFTC that lists contracts for trading derivatives based on an underlying commodity.
"This will mark a significant milestone in our effort to establish USDC as a true cash equivalent, while providing greater efficiency through near-instant money transfer and secure custody," stated Coinbase Derivatives in the announcement, highlighting the reliability of the stablecoin, its operational advantages, and its growing acceptance in traditional financial markets.
Nodal enabled clearing for Coinbase Derivatives in May
The recently announced USDC collateral plan is not the first collaboration between Coinbase and Nodal Clear.
In May, Nodal Clear began offering support for trading certain cryptocurrency futures contracts on the Coinbase Derivatives Exchange (CDE), including Bitcoin (BTI) futures, Ether (ETI) futures, nano Bitcoin (BIT) futures, and nano Ether (ET) futures.
"We are excited to continue collaborating with Coinbase Derivatives and to bring innovation to the sector, such as our introduction of the first 24x7 margin futures in May 2025," said Paul Cusenza, President and CEO of Nodal Clear. He added:
"Plans to integrate USDC as collateral represent our ongoing commitment to respond to market needs and innovate. We look forward to collaborating with our clearing members and the CFTC to make this a reality."
The news comes after USDC issuer Circle went public on the New York Stock Exchange on June 5, with its CRCL shares trading at USD 69.
USDC partner Circle, Coinbase (COIN), has been publicly traded for over four years since its launch on Nasdaq in April 2021.
