Coinbase Lowers Barrier to Complex Crypto Trades

Coinbase has made it possible for retail traders to execute complex Bitcoin futures basis trades using onshore US accounts, cross margin, and nano contracts.

The recent example involved a trader executing a native Bitcoin futures basis trade with margin requirements as low as $25, something previously reserved for institutional-grade capital and offshore exchange accounts.

Cross margining pools all of a trader's Perpetual portfolio funds as collateral across every open position, reducing the likelihood of unnecessary liquidations. This feature is now integrated across both spot and derivatives trading through Coinbase Prime.

The nano Bitcoin futures contracts are sized at one-hundredth of a Bitcoin, allowing traders to build granular exposure to Bitcoin's price curve without concentrating risk into one oversized position.