CFTC Asks Court to Dismiss CME Lawsuit Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures

The CFTC has filed a motion to dismiss CME Group's lawsuit over Bitcoin perpetual futures, arguing that CME lacks legal standing to challenge the agency's approval of Kalshi's contract.

CME sued the CFTC in June after the agency approved Kalshi's Bitcoin perpetual contract in May. The CFTC says CME can list similar contracts itself and therefore has no grounds for challenging the approval.

The CFTC also rejects CME's argument that perpetual contracts should be regulated as swaps, not futures, citing current law that does not require a fixed expiration date for futures contracts.

CME claims the CFTC's approval gave newer exchanges an advantage and that perpetual contracts could lead to excessive speculation. Kalshi disagrees with this criticism, saying the lawsuit is an attempt to limit competition.