Derivatives Trading on Coinbase Prime › Get started with derivatives
120% rule — CFTC limit on how much customer collateral an FCM may hold outside the U.S. relative to the foreign broker's margin requirement.
AORS — Automated Order Routing System
CFM — Coinbase Financial Markets, CFTC-registered FCM and your counterparty.
Delegation — Making collateral held in CFM custody available as buying power on Deribit. Deposits are delegated; withdrawals are un-delegated.
Delivery price — The 30-minute TWAP of the Deribit index ending at 08:00 UTC, used to settle expiring contracts.
Derivatives Funding Portfolio — The one Prime portfolio per entity that pays U.S. Derivatives margin calls and receives excess margin.
ECP — Eligible Contract Participant; the regulatory eligibility standard for clients.
Equity / Margin balance / Available / Withdrawable — See Understanding your balances: equity, margin balance, available and withdrawable.
Excess margin — Cash in your U.S. Derivatives futures account above your margin requirement.
FCM — Futures Commission Merchant.
IM / MM — Initial and maintenance margin.
Inverse vs linear — Inverse contracts are priced and settled in the coin (BTC/ETH); linear contracts in USDC.
Lot — One contract; the unit for NFA fee calculation.
LSP — Liquidity Support Provider; a market maker that takes over positions at close-out.
Margin call (U.S. Derivatives) — Amount due when your futures account is short at the 5 PM ET cutoff; due the next business day.
Options on futures — The CFTC-compliant structure where an ITM option delivers into a same-expiry future that is immediately cash-settled.
Perpetual-style futures — Long-dated CDE futures with hourly funding that trade like perpetuals.
Secured account (30.7) — The CFTC-mandated customer account where CFM holds collateral used for foreign markets.
Session profits — Profits since the last 08:00 UTC settlement; usable as margin but not withdrawable until settled.
S:SM / S:PM — Segregated Standard Margin / Segregated Portfolio Margin.
Transfer windows — Business-day times when cash moves between Prime and your U.S. Derivatives futures account.
Weekend Buying Power — Excess cash you choose to keep in your U.S. Derivatives futures account so you can trade when transfers aren't running.
Need help?
Contact your Coinbase Account Manager or email primeops@coinbase.com. See also Get help and notifications for derivatives.
Note: Derivatives on Coinbase Prime are offered by Coinbase Financial Markets, Inc. (CFM), a futures commission merchant registered with the CFTC and a member of the NFA.
Disclaimer: Trading futures and options involves substantial risk and isn't suitable for everyone. Only trade products you understand, after considering whether trading suits your experience, financial position and investment goals. Leverage can work for you or against you, and losses can exceed the amount you deposit.
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