In response to new guidance from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, we are disabling our margin trading product, Coinbase said in a media release.
Customers currently using margin trading will not be able to place new margin trades starting 2pm PT on November 25. For customers using credit, all open limit orders will be cancelled at this time. The product will be taken offline in December once all existing margin positions have expired.
We believe clear, common sense regulations for margin lending products are needed to protect and provide peace of mind to U.S customers. We look forward to working closely with regulators to achieve this goal.
Where To Go Next?
Coinbase notes that “clear, common sense regulations” are necessary, and it says that it intends to work with regulators to create those rules. This implies that Coinbase could reintroduce the service at a future date.
In the meantime, several other crypto exchanges still offer margin trading, including Kraken, BitMEX, Binance, Huobi, and Poloniex. As such, traders will have little trouble choosing an alternative.
The decision to shut down the service will not affect standard Coinbase users. Margin trading was mainly aimed at advanced users and is generally considered a high-risk trading strategy.
