Coinbase’s 30-minute Deribit switch will force-settle and rebuild institutional positions

The Coinbase Deribit migration for International Exchange institutions is scheduled for Sept. 9. The planned cutover would move accounts, balances and positions to Deribit, cancel open orders, settle positions at market prices and recreate them on Deribit. The change applies to International Exchange institutional clients, not the retail migration path for Coinbase app and website users.

Clients that do not want to migrate should treat Aug. 28 as the boundary. Coinbase’s institutional migration FAQ labels it the last day to opt out by closing positions and separately says a client that does not wish to migrate must close its International Exchange account before Aug. 28. Accounts left open will be deemed to have accepted the new terms and migration.

Coinbase says all stated dates, timelines and milestones remain estimates and may change. It expects new Deribit subaccounts to be available in a read-only state on Aug. 31, giving institutions time to verify access, generate API keys, confirm portfolio mappings and request position or withdrawal limits.

On migration day, Coinbase expects about 30 minutes of downtime. All open International Exchange orders would be canceled. Positions would then be settled at the venue’s mark price, with PnL crystallized and funding paid, before the resulting balances move to Deribit. Coinbase plans to recreate the positions at the same settlement price through matched migration trades.

Coinbase’s International Exchange trading rules say migrated positions remain open and enforceable, and that the process does not constitute an ordinary closure and reopening.

Coinbase International Exchange and Deribit will settle their markets independently before cutover. If their prices differ, clients may see immediate unrealized PnL when Deribit reopens. Coinbase says the migration will not incur trading or settlement fees.

How to prepare for the Coinbase Deribit migration

Existing International Exchange API keys will not work on Deribit, so clients must update endpoints and credentials. Coinbase says legacy International Exchange APIs should remain accessible for historical trade and order data for about 12 months, but that history will not appear in Deribit. Institutions that need records for reporting or tax purposes are advised to save them before migration.

Existing margin loans will not move to Deribit and must be closed before cutover. Post-migration margin requirements will depend on the selected Deribit mode and any custom institutional arrangement. Custody and counterparty structures also vary: some clients will retain Coinbase Bermuda Limited as broker and custodian, some will trade directly with Deribit FZE while retaining Coinbase custody, and certain third-party-custody arrangements will move to Deribit Panama.

Coinbase says the exact instructions depend on the client’s account setup, entity, and jurisdiction, with account managers expected to provide additional steps where required.