About a month after Coinbase confirmed that it had applied for a registration as Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the United States National Futures Association (NFA), the list of approved principals of the pending FCM is growing.

Let’s recall that the applications of Coinbase Financial Markets Inc as an FCM and an NFA member have been pending since September 15, 2021. In a sign of the progress of these applications, several principals have been approved by NFA.

Effective October 20, 2021, the following individuals are newly approved principals of Coinbase Financial Markets Inc:

• Alesia Jeanne Haas – Director
• Gregory Compa – Chief Compliance Officer
• Brian David Armstrong – Indirect Owner
• Paul Singh Grewal – Director

The full list of principals of Coinbase Financial Markets can be viewed below. The other individuals and entities listed have earlier secured NFA approval:

Coinbase has explained that the FCM application is the next step to broaden its offerings and offer futures and derivatives trading on its platforms.

The application was filed as Coinbase announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had plans to sue the company over its Lend program. The SEC has given Coinbase what’s called a Wells notice about the planned Coinbase Lend program. A Wells notice is the official way a regulator tells a company that it intends to sue the company in court.