CRYPTO 101 — Ep. 672

Crypto Futures Unleashed: Inside Coinbase Derivatives with Boris Ilievsky

Date: August 19, 2025
Duration: ~50 minutes
Host(s): Bryce Paul & Brendan Viehman
Guest: Boris Ilievsky (CEO, Coinbase Derivatives Exchange; Head of US Markets)

Episode Overview

In this high-impact episode, Bryce Paul hosts Boris Ilievsky, CEO of Coinbase Derivatives Exchange, for an in-depth exploration of the booming U.S. crypto derivatives landscape. The discussion centers around the regulatory breakthroughs enabling onshore access to crypto futures and perps, the explosion of retail-friendly products, Coinbase’s regulatory partnerships, the road ahead for options, and the massive transformation of market structures thanks to 24/7 trading and tokenization. This is a must-listen for anyone aiming to understand what’s next for American crypto traders and investors as crosswinds shift the U.S. market back into global leadership.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Regulatory Breakthroughs: Bringing Crypto Futures Onshore

• Background: Crypto derivatives, especially perpetual futures (“perps”), were historically only accessible via offshore platforms like Binance or Bybit. That changed as U.S. regulators (notably the SEC, CFTC, and political leadership) signaled support for robust, onshore, retail-friendly derivatives markets.
  • "We're bringing all markets on chain. We want Americans to have the same access as everybody. No more offshore—bring it onshore." — Bryce (02:04)
• Coinbase’s Role: For several years, Coinbase has worked closely and collaboratively with the CFTC to build a compliant, robust, U.S. derivatives franchise.
  • "We've been working with the CFTC for the last couple of years to expand our US regulated futures franchise... We're seeing fantastic volumes over the last couple of months.” — Boris (02:35)
• Key Inflection Points:
  • Launch of Bitcoin & Ethereum ETFs in the U.S.
  • Administration momentum (including executive action encouraging crypto innovation onshore)
  • Ongoing expansion of regulated altcoin futures beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum

2. Retail Revolution in Leverage Products

• Historical Context: Previously, leverage in crypto was a game for institutions. Now, U.S. retail can access highly granular position sizing and risk through “Nano” contracts.
  • "We sized our futures products for the retail market… We launched our Nano Bitcoin and Nano Ethereum futures, which were sized at 1/100th of a Bitcoin, 1/10th of an ETH… You can really size the amount you want to trade, the risk you want to take.” — Boris (07:10)
• Retail Onboarding: CFTC-regulated, easily accessible futures for U.S. users—eliminates grey-zone workarounds (VPNs, offshore signups).
• Altcoin Futures: Coinbase is leading with listings like Doge, Stellar, Litecoin, and more, always with close attention to volume, liquidity, and sound fundamentals.
  • "We list over 20 products at this point. We keep going down the line based on market cap, price history… We want to list the next 50, 100 products.” — Boris (10:52)

3. How Assets Get Listed

• Rigorous Criteria: Spot trading history, volume, liquidity, and distributed ownership are essential.
  • "We look at together with our clearinghouse partner… has the coin been around, is there enough spot volume, what is the distribution of ownership, is it sufficiently distributed..." — Boris (10:52)

4. Capital Flows: Quantifying the Onshore Derivatives Market

• Shift from Offshore: Brett asks if the migration of capital back to regulated U.S. venues can be measured.
  • "We look at the total universe of crypto futures volumes… as we see our market share of the US market grow… It's one way for us to hopefully not just see a shift from offshore to the US, but growth of the overall pie.” — Boris (14:30)
• New Participants: New retail entrants who previously didn’t use perps (even offshore) are now entering the U.S. market.

5. Options: The Next Frontier

• Roadmap: Options on futures are firmly in the Coinbase pipeline for the U.S., potentially launching next year.
  • "Options on futures are definitely on our roadmap… hoping to do potentially as soon as next year." — Boris (17:25)
• Accessibility: Should be as seamless as traditional options, not requiring separate, complex qualification for users.
• Regulatory Clarity: Options on futures, especially via perpetual contracts, have a clearer path compared to more novel options (e.g., options on spot).

6. 24/7 Trading, Stablecoin Collateral, and the Push for Liquidity

• Huge Leap: Coinbase launched true 24/7 futures trading, a first for U.S. regulated exchanges.
  • "We’ve achieved an enormous amount of progress in being able to open up trading on Saturdays and Sundays for the first time on any U.S. futures exchange in any product.” — Boris (22:38)
• Next Steps: Bringing USDC and other stablecoins as collateral to unlock weekend and instant settlement, more liquidity, and access for all participants.
• Traditional Finance Follows: Momentum is building for 24/5 equities, with crypto markets leading the way.

7. Tokenization and the Future of Financial Markets

• Why Tokenization Matters: New opportunities—trade U.S. equities 24/7, more flexibility for issuers/investors, and bringing traditional assets onto blockchains for greater collateral utility.
  • “Being able to take [equities] on-chain, use them as collateral, move them freely… blockchain can take equities further.” — Boris (28:00)
• Regulatory Alignment: Signs from SEC and CFTC point to continued experimentation and evolution in tokenizing assets.

8. Growth Metrics and Comparisons

• Open Interest: Coinbase Derivatives' open interest has grown >4x in a few months, driven by new products and greater participation.
  • "Our open interest has grown from just about $200–300 million a couple of months ago to over a billion dollars in the last couple of weeks.” — Boris (35:13)
• Retail Participation: Retail trading (while in shorter timeframes) is growing and influencing open interest and overall volumes.
• Liquidity Patterns: Largely tracks traditional patterns, but with overnight and weekend activity rising as users take advantage of always-on markets.

9. What’s Next? Milestones and Expansion

• Priorities:
  • Expand the breadth of altcoin futures.
  • “Round out” perpetual and 24/7 trading for more coins (not just BTC/ETH).
  • Introduce options on futures.
  • Attract more liquidity providers and market makers for robust markets at all hours.
  • "My biggest mission is to recruit more and more liquidity providers so that we can not just offer the best possible product to both retail and institutional clients, but also take all of our crypto futures 24/7.” — Boris (42:11)
• Incentive Models: Coinbase publicly files and certifies incentive programs (rebates, fee reductions, etc.) to attract market makers.
• Regulatory Watch: Coinbase is actively engaged with the CFTC, pushing forward on crypto as collateral, decentralization structures, and new Index products.
  • “We're not waiting… our biggest focus is crypto as collateral in the US and figuring out other potential structures.” — Boris (46:04)

10. Vision for the Next Five Years

• Trajectory: Boris draws parallels to the mainstreaming of equity options—expects crypto derivatives to follow with broader offerings, more retail participation, and new index products.
  • "Ultimately it will rival the equity options market, the equity market, in terms of the breadth of offering—commodities, equities, various other types of crypto tokens. That’s what I’m really excited about..." — Boris (48:48)
• Retail Dominance: Options are becoming a very retail-heavy product, a trend expected to continue in crypto.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the American onshore comeback:
  “We want to have Americans have the same access as everybody. No more offshore. Bring it onshore.”
  — Bryce (02:04)

• On accessibility for retail:
  “Our bitcoin contract, the one that trades most actively, is about $1,200... It really made it accessible to much smaller retail clients.”
  — Boris (07:10)

• On altcoin futures listing criteria:
  “We look at things like, has the coin been around...enough spot volume...distribution of ownership...We have to be a little bit more judicious in how we qualify new products.”
  — Boris (10:52)

• On institutional and retail convergence:
  “I think we're seeing brand new participants who didn’t quite understand or feel comfortable with traditionally designed monthly futures contracts, and also weren’t necessarily out there on the VPN trying to access offshore exchanges.”
  — Boris (14:30)

• On options innovation:
  “Options on futures are not frankly a very novel concept...as our slate of perpetual style futures continues to grow into next year, ultimately I hope to introduce options on futures.”
  — Boris (17:25)

• On the liquidity flywheel:
  “Liquidity begets liquidity. The more that kind of piles in...you’re just going to have more success…”
  — Bryce (37:54)

• On 24/7 market innovation:
  “There’s no reason to stop on weekends. People who want to have an opinion...should be able to do so 24/7.”
  — Boris (25:31)

• On tokenization’s promise:
  “Being able to take [equities] on chain, be able to use them as collateral elsewhere...blockchain can take equities further.”
  — Boris (28:00)

• On the future of crypto derivatives:
  “Ultimately, it will rival the equity options market...That’s what I’m really excited about for the next several years.”
  — Boris (48:48)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:04] — Setting the stage: regulatory changes, onshoring of crypto perps/futures
• [07:10] — Retail-first products: Nano contracts and altcoin futures
• [14:30] — Measuring capital migration and the growth of U.S. derivatives
• [17:25] — The roadmap for options on crypto futures
• [22:38] — Building 24/7 trading and introducing stablecoin collateral
• [28:00] — Tokenization and what it means for blockchain in tradfi
• [35:13] — Open interest growth, retail participation, and comparison with CME
• [38:37] — Liquidity and trading patterns: weekdays vs. weekends
• [42:11] — Institutional onboarding, expanding product breadth, and liquidity incentives
• [46:04] — Regulatory milestones and what’s next
• [48:48] — Five-year outlook: from niche to mainstream

Overall Tone & Takeaways

The episode remains bullish and optimistic, reflecting the rapid professionalization and democratization of crypto derivatives in the U.S. Boris Ilievsky’s insights confirm that Coinbase is leading a new era—opening the floodgates for both retail and institutional market participation, pushing 24/7 access, and aiming to rival the scope and sophistication of traditional equity options markets. Listeners come away with a nuanced understanding of how product offerings, regulation, and technology are converging to change the face of crypto trading in America.

For U.S. crypto traders, institutions, and anyone watching regulatory trends, this episode is an invaluable signal that the derivatives landscape is not only catching up but may soon be setting the global standard.