Disclosure: CoinCodeCap earns a referral fee if you open a Deribit account through links on this page. The section below about Deribit removing its public reserves page is the kind of thing that costs us sign-ups, and it leads the review anyway.
How we reviewed Deribit. Fees, country rules and KYC come from the venue’s own support pages, not from other reviews. The custody and reserves timeline comes from its own exchange-update posts and Coinbase’s investor communications. Where a figure is the venue’s own claim rather than something checked by others, we say so.
TL;DR. Deribit is still the deepest crypto options market there is, holding roughly 85% of open interest. Coinbase bought it in August 2025, moved about 90% of client assets into Coinbase custody, and on 1 Sept 2026 switched off the public daily proof of reserves page. Fees are fair and the insurance fund is large. US retail still cannot trade there, though institutions got a route in during May 2026.
The Proof-of-Reserves Page Is Gone
Deribit published a daily reserves check for years. It was one of the reasons people trusted an offshore venue with real money, and it survived the whole post-FTX period when that sort of thing stopped being optional.
On 1 Sept 2026 it was switched off. The stated reason is that the wallet setup changed as part of the Coinbase integration, and roughly 90% of client assets have moved into Coinbase custody. The daily page described a wallet setup that no longer exists.
⚠️ Read this the right way round. Your coins did not become unbacked. Deribit stays under Dubai’s VARA rules, which require 1:1 reserves, daily internal checks and outside audits at least twice a year. What went away is the part you could check yourself, every day, without taking anyone’s word for it. Having Coinbase as custodian is a real upgrade in who holds your coins. Losing the daily public check is a real loss. Both are true and neither cancels the other.
What the Coinbase Deal Changed
Coinbase announced the deal in May 2025 at $2.9 billion and closed it that August, with the final bill landing near $4.3 billion once the stock half was valued. Trading carried on throughout, and the products did not change.
Then came the part that matters for US readers. In May 2026, CFTC guidance let Coinbase Financial Markets become the first US-registered futures broker able to connect US clients to global crypto options and perps, starting with access for big firms to its books. Nothing has opened up for US retail yet.
So the deal cut both ways. A US-listed parent and a regulated custodian on one side; less of the radical self-verification that offshore venues used to compete on. Our reporting on the close covers the deal itself.
Deribit Fees in Full
Two details catch people out. Option fees are charged to makers and takers at the same rate, so the usual trick of resting an order to dodge the taker fee does nothing here. And the 12.5% cap is the loosest in the market, which matters if you buy cheap far-out bets: Delta Exchange caps at 3.5% and OKX at 7%, so on a $200 premium they charge $8.26 and $14.00 where Deribit charges $25.00. We work through that comparison in our seven Deribit alternatives.
The 1% liquidation fee, though, is the friendliest number on this page. Onchain venues are far harsher: Derive takes 10% of your entire book.
Who Cannot Open an Account
Deribit serves eligible traders in over 150 countries. It blocks retail traders in the United States, Canada and Japan, plus Belarus, the Central African Republic, Congo, Cuba, Guam, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Russia and Ukraine.
KYC is not optional and not deferred. You verify before you can deposit, trade or withdraw anything, with a government ID and proof of address. Firms add company and ownership papers. Anyone hoping for an unnamed futures account should look at an onchain venue instead, and accept the thinner books that come with it.
Depth Is the Real Product
Deribit holds roughly 85% of crypto options open interest and traded over $1 trillion in the past year. In options that dominance is the whole point, because a thin book costs you more in spread on entry and exit than any fee card can save you.
This is why the fee argument against Deribit is weaker than it looks. A venue charging 0.02% on a book with no size at your strike is dearer in practice than 0.03% where you get filled at the price you wanted. Check the book on the expiry you actually trade before you move anywhere.
Deribit also reports a $174 million-plus insurance fund and keeps 99% of client funds in cold storage, with two-factor login, IP whitelists and withdrawal address books. Those are the exchange’s own figures.
Pros and Cons
- ✅ The deepest options book in crypto, around 85% of open interest
- ✅ A 1% liquidation fee, far gentler than onchain venues
- ✅ Coinbase as custodian for about 90% of client assets
- ✅ Insurance pot reported above $174 million
- ✅ A US route for big firms opened in May 2026 through Coinbase Financial Markets
- ❌ The daily public reserves page was switched off on 1 Sept 2026
- ❌ Options makers pay the same rate as takers, so resting orders saves nothing
- ❌ The 12.5% premium cap is the loosest around, costing you on cheap bets
- ❌ US, Canadian and Japanese retail traders are shut out
- ❌ KYC before you can deposit, trade or withdraw
Expert tip. Since makers and takers pay the same on Deribit options, spend your effort on strike selection rather than order placement. The one place order type still pays is futures and perps, where the maker rate is less than half the taker rate. Traders who arrive from spot exchanges usually have this backwards and post passive options orders expecting a rebate that is not there.
7 Frequently Asked Questions
Is Deribit safe after the Coinbase takeover?
Who holds your coins improved. What you can check got worse. Coinbase, a US-listed company, now custodies about 90% of client assets, and Dubai’s VARA rules still require 1:1 reserves with outside audits at least twice a year. But the daily reserves page you could check yourself was switched off on 1 Sept 2026.
Why did Deribit stop publishing proof of reserves?
Deribit says its wallet setup changed during the Coinbase integration, and with roughly 90% of client assets moved into Coinbase custody the daily page described a setup that no longer existed. It ended on 1 Sept 2026.
Can US traders use Deribit?
Not as retail. US retail traders are blocked, as are Canada and Japan. In May 2026, CFTC guidance let Coinbase Financial Markets connect big US firms to its order books as a registered futures broker. Retail access has been signalled but has not arrived.
What are Deribit’s options fees?
0.03% of the index price, charged to makers and takers alike, capped at 12.5% of the option’s price. Futures and perps are 0.015% maker and 0.035% taker at the base tier since 4 Sept 2026, dropping to 0.01% and 0.03% above roughly $15 million traded in 30 days.
Does Deribit require KYC?
Yes, before you can deposit, trade or withdraw. You submit a government ID and proof of residence; corporate accounts also provide company and ownership papers.
Is Deribit cheaper than its rivals?
On costly bets it is fair. On cheap far-out bets it is one of the dearest, because its 12.5% cap is the loosest in the market. On a $200 premium at $100,000 notional Deribit charges $25.00 where Delta Exchange charges $8.26 and OKX $14.00.
How big is the insurance fund?
The venue reports it above $174 million, alongside 99% cold storage of client funds. Those are the exchange’s own figures rather than audited by anyone else.
Bottom line. If you trade crypto options in size, Deribit is still where the liquidity is, and 85% of open interest is not a number a rival closes quickly. Coinbase backing makes the other side of your trade stronger than any offshore venue can claim. Set against that, you have given up the daily check you could run yourself, you pay the same whether you make or take, and the loose premium cap punishes cheap bets. Trade size here; trade cheap far-out bets somewhere with a tighter cap.
Fees and country rules were taken from the venue’s own support pages in Sept 2026. Insurance fund and cold-storage figures are the venue’s own claims. Exchanges change terms; check the current rules for where you live before funding an account. Nothing here is investment advice.
Related Reading
If you are weighing a move
The Coinbase deal
Other futures venues
