CFTC Asks Judge to Dismiss CME Lawsuit Over Crypto Perpetual Futures
The CFTC asked a federal judge to dismiss CME’s lawsuit over approval of Bitcoin perpetual futures, saying CME has not shown financial harm or a competitive injury. CME argues the agency wrongly classified Kalshi’s perpetual Bitcoin contract as a future instead of a swap because it has no expiration or delivery date. The CFTC countered that CME could list the same product itself and is really disputing the label, not the agency’s authority to approve it. Perpetual futures let traders hold leveraged positions indefinitely through funding payments. Kalshi’s approval in May brought a product common on offshore crypto venues into the regulated U.S. market, and Kalshi has since moved to list contracts tied to several altcoins. The CFTC also said CME’s own public comments and trading data show no lost demand or imminent injury.
