Coinbase has secured regulatory approval to offer crypto futures for retail customers in the US, even as the cryptocurrency exchange faces a lawsuit from authorities alleging it has violated securities laws.
The company said on Wednesday that the National Futures Association, a self-regulatory body for the US derivatives industry, had given permission for small investors to trade futures on tokens such as bitcoin on its market.
The approval pushed Coinbase shares up as much as 3.3 per cent in New York, although they later fell back to trade 1.4 per cent lower. It also marks a rare victory for the San Francisco group, which has spent the majority of this year clashing with American regulators.