This article addresses our US-regulated derivatives offering which is available to residents of the US and most countries in the European Economic Area ("EEA"). You can learn more about Coinbase's Derivatives products on the Derivatives help page. For US customers, derivatives balances are held with Coinbase Financial Markets (CFM), which is a CFTC registered futures commission merchant and a member of the National Futures Association. Spot balances are managed by Coinbase Inc. (CBI). Funds held with CBI do not benefit from the CFTC's customer protection regime.
In the EEA, this service is available only to eligible customers through Coinbase Financial Services Europe Ltd. (CBFSE). Access is subject to completion of CBFSE’s onboarding and verification requirements, including identity checks and the appropriateness and target market assessments applicable under the current CBFSE framework; if those requirements are not met, access may be refused, limited or withdrawn.. EEA Clients need to sign up for a Coinbase Luxembourg S.A. spot account in order to access CBFSE's offering.
Contract rolling involves maintaining long or short exposure by closing a position on an expiring contract and re-establishing it on the next available contract. The next contract becomes available to trade at 6 PM ET, 2 days before expiration of the front month contract.
During the roll period, open interest moves from the expiring front month contract to the next available contract. This will become the lead month contract due to increased open interest and trading activity.
If you don’t roll your position, it will expire on the expiration date. Margin funds will be released to your account, and any profits or losses will be credited or debited to your derivatives account.
Roll your position
You can roll your futures position into the next contract automatically or manually.
Automatic rolling of all positions
If you opt in to automatic rolling, all of your futures positions will roll automatically one day before contract expiration (between 8 AM and 3 PM ET). Positions on expiring contracts will close, open orders will be canceled, and positions will reopen on the next contract.
Note: Pending orders won’t be re-established on the new contract.
The rolling algorithm first submits a closing order (closing leg) on the expiring contract, then an opening order (opening leg) on the next contract to re-establish your position. It aims to limit costs by initially submitting a passive order. If that’s not fulfilled in a reasonable time, it submits a market order.
Note: Contract rolls aren’t guaranteed if market liquidity is insufficient.
To opt in, toggle Automatic contract rolling in Coinbase Derivatives Settings.
Additional details
The cutoff to opt in is 7 PM ET, 2 business days before the contract expiration.
Roll orders can’t be canceled once in progress.
Order details are available on the Orders page (Type = "Roll open" and "Roll close").
You may receive email confirmations for orders.
Troubleshooting automatic rolls
Automatic rolls might not occur due to:
Not opted in: Ensure you’ve enabled automatic contract rolling in Coinbase Derivatives Settings.
Insufficient funds: The rolling algorithm checks for sufficient funds before proceeding.
Liquidity issues: Insufficient liquidity on the expiring or next available contract can prevent a full roll.
Manual rolling of a single position
You can manually roll positions in two ways:
The “roll position” button: Two days before contract expiration, use the “Roll position” button on the position details screen to submit a market order that closes your position on the expiring contract, then another market order that re-opens the position on the next contract. (This option won't be available if you’re opted into automatic rolls.)
The order form: Submit an opposing order to close your position on the expiring contract (sell if long, buy if short), then submit an order to open your new position on the next contract.
United States: Information provided is not investment advice. Funds held with Coinbase Inc. do not benefit from the CFTC’s customer protection regime. Access to the referenced financial products requires user eligibility, and may not be available in all jurisdictions. The risk of transacting in futures can be substantial and may not be suitable for everyone, possibly resulting in a loss of funds greater than the total amount of funds you have on deposit in your CFM account, together with any funds in your Coinbase Inc. account or any other accounts held with Coinbase affiliates. Leverage in futures trading can work for you or against you. The risk of loss using leverage can exceed your initial investment amount. Please review the CFM Futures Risk Disclosure Statement for more information. Coinbase Financial Markets makes no representation on the suitability of information provided or to a particular financial product.
Coinbase Financial Markets is a member of National Futures Association (NFA) and is subject to NFA's regulatory oversight and examinations. However, NFA does not have regulatory oversight authority over underlying or spot virtual currency products or transactions or virtual currency exchanges, custodians, or markets.
Assets held in your CFM futures account will be segregated from CFM’s own assets. All customer assets held by CFM will be subject to customer protection regulations of the CFTC, including CFTC Rule 1.20. In the unlikely event of CFM’s bankruptcy, your futures account is protected under CFTC regulations, including Part 190 rules, and specific provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
Any funds transferred to your Coinbase Inc spot account won’t receive the preferential treatment afforded to funds held in a regulated futures account pursuant to CFTC's regulations and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
European Economic Area: The information contained on this page does not constitute marketing material or a solicitation to trade in the products or services described here.
Derivatives trading is available to eligible EEA customers through Coinbase Financial Services Europe Ltd. (CySEC License 374/19). In order to access derivatives, customers will need to pass through our standard assessment checks to determine their eligibility and suitability for this product.
Derivatives are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Derivatives are complex instruments and are not suitable for most investors. You should consider whether derivatives are suitable for you, and seek independent professional advice if needed. The value of your product can go up and down, and your capital is at risk. You could lose all invested capital.
The products and services offered here may however not be available in your country, or may not be offered by Coinbase Financial Services Europe Ltd.
For eligible EEA customers, negative balance protection applies. Learn more here. If your deposit is in EUR, it will first be converted to USDC, and then USDC will be converted to USD.