Coinbase's Deribit buy shows growing derivatives market

Coinbases agreement to buy Deribit highlights the increasing importance of financial derivatives for cryptocurrency exchanges, according to industry executives.On May 8, Coinbase, the USs largest crypto exchange by trading volume, agreed to acquire crypto derivatives platform Deribit for $2.9 billion in the crypto industrys largest corporate acquisition to date.The deal reflects increasing competition among digital asset exchanges and brokerages including Coinbase, Kraken and Robinhood to dominate the burgeoning crypto derivatives market."Global derivatives trading is a key driver of growth for Coinbase, Spencer Yang, co-founder of Fractal Bitcoin, a Bitcoin scaling solution, told Cointelegraph.Coinbase agreed to buy Deribit on May 8. Source: CoinbaseThe merger established Coinbase as the worlds largest crypto derivatives platform by open interest, the exchange said in a blog post announcing the deal.In a May 8 X post, Jeff Park, Bitwises head of alpha strategies, said Coinbases Deribit acquisition might be the best 'value' deal in crypto I've ever seen, adding the the deal is a coup for Coinbase.In March, US crypto exchange Kraken agreed to buy NinjaTrader, a futures brokerage, for $1.5 billion.Coinbases international derivatives exchange saw some $10 billion in trading volume on May 8. Source: CoinbaseRelated: Coinbase to acquire options trading platform Deribit for $2.9BExpanding global footprintCoinbase already has a global presence in perpetual futures, with roughly $10 billion in daily trading volume as of May 8. It also has a US-based derivatives trading platform listing more than 20 futures contracts.Deribit is the largest crypto options exchange, with about $30 trillion in open interest, according to the blog post.With this acquisition, Coinbase has captured all possible regulated and self-regulated derivatives products, Yang added.It also bolstered Coinbases presence in the global market, which is still dominated by Binance, the worlds largest crypto exchange by volume.Deribit does not serve US-based traders, according to its website.Deribit is the platform of choice for global traders for Bitcoin and Ethereum options, Yang said. Futures contracts are standardized agreements to buy or sell an underlying asset at a future date, often using leverage in a bid to enhance returns.Options are contracts granting the right to buy or sell call or put, in trader parlance an underlying asset at a certain price.Magazine:Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now its becoming them in stablecoin fight