Three developments on 6–7 October 2026 show crypto markets being pulled inside regulated perimeters, in three very different jurisdictions and ways.
Coinbase has completed its integration of the derivatives exchange Deribit, giving eligible US institutional clients a regulated route to Deribit’s options and perpetual futures [1]. The Bank of Russia has published its first registers of authorised crypto exchange operators and custodians under a new law, with Sberbank and VTB among them [2]. And in Washington, Rep. French Hill, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, said SEC and CFTC rulemaking “fall[s] short” of what is needed, a statute, and that he still hopes the CLARITY Act can pass in the lame-duck session [3].
All three are confirmed by the companies, regulator or lawmaker involved. Each has a part still pending. No investment advice follows.
At a glance
| Story | What is confirmed | What is still pending |
|---|---|---|
| Coinbase–Deribit | Integration complete; US institutions to access Deribit options and perps via Coinbase Prime and Coinbase Financial Markets [1] | Options via Prime “in the coming weeks”; US retail options “later this year” [1] |
| Bank of Russia registers | Four exchange operators and five custodians listed, including Sberbank and VTB [2] | Sberbank’s crypto products planned from 1 December [2] |
| French Hill on CLARITY | On record that agency rules “fall short”; wants lame-duck passage [3] | Whether a bill that failed 49–50 in the Senate can be revived [3] |
1. Coinbase completes its Deribit integration
Confirmed (company announcement, as reported). Coinbase said on Wednesday 7 October that it has completed the integration of Deribit, combining its international derivatives business with Deribit and letting eligible US customers reach that liquidity through Coinbase Financial Markets, its derivatives unit regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) [1]. Coinbase International Exchange balances and positions were migrated to Deribit on 1 October [1].
What changes, and when [1]:
- US institutions: access to Deribit’s options and perpetual futures through Coinbase Prime and Coinbase Financial Markets. Previously, Cointelegraph reports, such clients typically needed offshore entities and separate trading infrastructure.
- Options via Coinbase Prime: expected “in the coming weeks”.
- Non-US retail: options for eligible non-US retail traders over the same period.
- US retail: options access “later this year”.
Two terms, in plain words. An option gives the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell at a set price by a set date. A perpetual future (“perp”) is a futures-style contract with no expiry date, kept close to the spot price by periodic funding payments between longs and shorts.
Context. Coinbase says derivatives account for roughly 80% of global crypto trading volume [1]. That is Coinbase’s figure. Cointelegraph reports that the path opened in May, when the CFTC issued guidance allowing Coinbase Financial Markets to connect US clients to global derivatives markets [1].
What it does not mean. US retail customers do not yet have Deribit options through Coinbase; the company’s own timetable puts that “later this year” [1]. Leverage in options and perps can magnify losses as well as gains.
2. The Bank of Russia publishes its first crypto registers
Confirmed (regulator registers, as reported). On Tuesday 6 October the Bank of Russia published its first registers of authorised crypto operators under regulations that took effect on 1 September, Cointelegraph reported [2]. The lists contain four exchange operators and five custodians [2]:
- Custodians: Sberbank, Atomyze, Voltari, Cloud Infrastructure and VTB.
- Exchange operators: T-Invest Lab, Zefir, Sistema-Crypto and VTB.
VTB appears on both lists [2].
Sberbank’s plans (company statement). Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, said on Monday 5 October that it had applied for digital custodian status and plans to launch its first crypto products on 1 December. It initially plans to support bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and USDT through its existing SberBank Online, SberInvestments and SberBusiness platforms [2].
The legal frame. President Vladimir Putin signed a crypto law in August that created a regulated framework for exchanges, custodians, brokers and investors, placed the market under the Bank of Russia’s oversight, and kept Russia’s ban on using crypto to pay for goods and services [2].
Why it matters. This is a licensing regime with state-linked banks at the front. It brings trading and custody inside a supervised perimeter while keeping crypto out of everyday payments. Sanctions and cross-border questions sit outside the scope of the reporting checked here.
3. French Hill: agency rules “fall short” of the CLARITY Act
Confirmed (on-the-record interview, as reported). In a Fox Business interview on Wednesday 7 October, Rep. French Hill, the Arkansas Republican who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, credited the SEC and CFTC for acting but said agency rules are no substitute for legislation, Decrypt reported [3].
Hill said SEC Chair Paul Atkins and the CFTC’s Mike Selig (whom Decrypt describes as acting chair) “have taken steps to use their regulatory power, their exemptive relief, to give definition to digital assets and digital commodities” [3]. Then: “In my judgement, these regulatory policies fall short of what we have to do, which is have a legislative solution” [3].
He said he still hopes the bill can pass in the lame-duck session: “We need that permanent law change to make sure America is number one in digital assets and blockchain technology” [3].
The background, per Decrypt [3]:
- The CLARITY Act would have set rules for most US crypto activity and clarified the jurisdictional line between the SEC and CFTC.
- The Senate failed to advance it in a 49–50 vote last month.
- Since then, the SEC has rolled out an “innovation exemption” for tokenised stocks and proposed rules on how investment advisers and funds can custody crypto, while the CFTC sent crypto-market rulemakings to the White House and floated a plan to bring crypto exchanges under federal oversight.
TSN has covered two of those SEC steps: the innovation exemption for tokenised NMS stocks and the 6 October custody proposal, which is open for comment until 7 December 2026.
Hill’s argument, in plain terms. Exemptions and guidance can be challenged in court or reversed by a future administration; a statute is harder to undo [3]. Decrypt notes that whether a bill that could not clear the Senate weeks ago can be revived before year-end “remains an open question” [3].
What links the three?
- Perimeters, not bans. Coinbase is bringing offshore-style derivatives into a CFTC-regulated channel [1]. Russia is bringing trading and custody into a central-bank register [2]. US agencies are using exemptions and proposals to define the perimeter while Congress has not [3].
- Sequencing. Institutions first, retail later, in Coinbase’s plan [1]. Registration first, products from 1 December, in Sberbank’s [2]. Agency rules first, statute maybe, in Hill’s account [3].
- Durability. Hill’s warning applies beyond Washington: rules that rest on discretion are easier to change than rules written into law [3].
What this does not prove
- That US retail traders can use Deribit options through Coinbase today. Coinbase says later this year [1].
- How much volume moves onshore. Coinbase’s 80% derivatives share is its own global figure, not a forecast for US uptake [1].
- That Sberbank’s crypto products are live. The bank plans a 1 December launch [2].
- That Russia now permits crypto payments. The law keeps the ban on paying for goods and services with crypto [2].
- That the CLARITY Act will pass. Hill hopes for lame-duck passage; the Senate vote last month was 49–50 against advancing it [3].
- That current SEC or CFTC relief is unstable today. Hill’s point is about long-term durability, not a specific legal challenge [3].
- Any trading or investment view. TSN is not offering investment advice.
The Bottom Line
Coinbase has finished folding Deribit into a US-regulated route for institutions, with retail to follow [1]. Russia has named its first licensed crypto exchanges and custodians, led by its biggest state-linked banks, while keeping crypto payments banned [2]. And the House’s lead crypto legislator says that in the US, agency rules, however busy, are not the same as law [3].
The common thread is regulated access. How long that access lasts depends on whether it is written into statute.
Related on TSN: SEC crypto custody proposal: adviser self-custody and state trust companies (https://tsnmedia.org/sec-proposed-crypto-custody-rules-comments-dec-2026/); SEC’s Innovation Exemption: a conditional path for tokenized NMS stocks (https://tsnmedia.org/sec-innovation-exemption-tokenized-nms-stocks/).
Sources
- Sam Bourgi, “Coinbase brings global crypto derivatives liquidity to US with Deribit integration,” Cointelegraph, 7 October 2026. https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-deribit-us-crypto-options-perpetual-futures
- Helen Partz, “Russia clears first crypto exchanges, custodians under new law,” Cointelegraph, 7 October 2026. https://cointelegraph.com/news/russia-first-crypto-platforms-register-new-law
- Decrypt Staff, “SEC and CFTC Crypto Rules ‘Fall Short’ of Clarity, Says Rep. French Hill,” Decrypt, 7 October 2026. https://decrypt.co/380349/sec-cftc-crypto-rules-fall-short-clarity-french-hill
