Coinbase Schedules 9-Hour Derivatives Maintenance as FORTH Delisting and Foreign Access Restrictions Take Effect

Leading cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will temporarily pause key trading features on October 24 as part of a scheduled nine-hour maintenance window on its derivatives division. ## Nine-Hour Maintenance Window and FORTH Delisting During the upcoming maintenance on October 24, trading in futures and perpetual futures via Coinbase Financial Markets will be unavailable for approximately nine hours. The platform confirmed that general account access will remain unchanged throughout the service interruption, with real-time progress posted to its official X account and dedicated status page. In addition to the scheduled system downtime, Coinbase announced it will stop supporting the Ampleforth Governance Token (FORTH) on November 23. While trading will end on that date, user withdrawals and fund access will continue uninterrupted. Following the announcement, FORTH fell roughly 15% in market value. ## International Access Blocks in Taiwan and Kazakhstan The scheduled outage occurs alongside increasing regulatory difficulties for the US-based firm in international jurisdictions. Officials in Taiwan recently blocked access to Coinbase and trading platform Kalshi prior to local elections scheduled for November 28, citing concerns regarding illegal election-related gambling. Coinbase acknowledged the connectivity issues experienced by Taiwanese users and confirmed an internal review is underway. Concurrently, a court in Kazakhstan sustained enforcement actions led by the Astana Financial Services Authority (AIFC) to block six unlicensed cryptocurrency operators. The order affects Coinbase, Huobi Global (HTX), BitMart, Bitcoin.com, BingX, and WEEX, barring them from advertising or offering trading services within Kazakhstan. This wave of jurisdictional enforcement reflects broader international trends where governments are tightening rules on digital asset providers, akin to ongoing regulatory debates like South Korea's Digital Asset Basic Act. ## Key Takeaways - Coinbase Financial Markets derivatives trading will be offline for nine hours on October 24. - Ampleforth Governance Token (FORTH) dropped 15% following notice of its November 23 delisting. - Taiwanese authorities blocked Coinbase and Kalshi ahead of November 28 elections over unauthorized betting concerns. - Kazakhstan's AIFC restricted access to six exchanges, including Coinbase, Huobi Global (HTX), and BitMart. ## Why It Matters Extended maintenance windows on major derivative venues present structural risks for retail and institutional traders who are unable to adjust leveraged positions during market volatility. Furthermore, localized domain restrictions in Taiwan and Kazakhstan demonstrate how fractured global compliance standards continue to impact centralized exchange operations. As regional enforcement sharpens, exchange operators must navigate stringent localized licensing hurdles to maintain cross-border liquidity.