Catenaa, Friday, September 11, 2026-The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has asked a US federal court to dismiss CME Group’s lawsuit challenging the regulator’s approval of cryptocurrency perpetual futures.
The CFTC filed its motion Wednesday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing CME had failed to establish a legally recognizable competitive injury.
CME sued the CFTC on June 18 after the regulator approved Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual futures contract on May 29.
The CFTC also said other designated contract markets could list similar cryptocurrency perpetual contracts as futures.
CME argues perpetual contracts should instead be classified as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act and Dodd-Frank.
The exchange alleges the CFTC bypassed regulatory requirements by permitting Kalshi and other venues to offer the products as futures.
CME also contends the decision introduced new competitors into a retail futures market where it already operates.
The CFTC rejected that argument in its dismissal motion.
The regulator said CME remains free to list perpetual futures itself and therefore cannot claim competitive harm simply because rival exchanges chose to offer them.
The CFTC also pointed to CME’s public statements indicating that its customers had not been asking for perpetual futures.
The agency cited CME trading data showing Bitcoin and Ether futures volumes were higher in June and August than in May, when the CFTC issued its approval.
The CFTC argued those figures weaken CME’s claim that the decision caused measurable competitive damage.
It also said reclassifying perpetual futures as swaps would not necessarily remove competing products from the market.
According to the CFTC, Kalshi and other regulated venues could potentially offer similar contracts under a swap classification instead.
The regulator therefore argued that a court ruling in CME’s favor would not necessarily remedy the competitive harm alleged by the exchange.
The dispute centers on how perpetual futures should be classified under US derivatives law.
Unlike conventional futures, perpetual contracts have no expiration date. Traders can maintain positions while meeting collateral and funding requirements.
The structure became widely used in offshore cryptocurrency markets before US regulators began allowing regulated versions domestically.
The CFTC’s May decision marked a major shift by opening a pathway for designated contract markets to list crypto perpetual futures in the US.
Coinbase and Kalshi were among the first regulated operators to move forward with such products.
The regulator has since examined broader use of perpetual contracts and round-the-clock trading across other asset classes.
CME’s lawsuit could determine how much discretion the CFTC has to classify new derivatives structures as futures rather than swaps.
The CFTC has requested an oral hearing on its motion.
CME’s response opposing dismissal is due Oct. 2.
