CFTC Asks Court to Dismiss CME's Crypto Perpetual Futures Lawsuit

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a motion to dismiss CME Group's lawsuit over crypto perpetual futures. The agency claims the case is 'much ado about nothing' and argues that CME lacks standing on its competitive-injury claims.

CME sued the CFTC in June, claiming that the agency's approval of products like Kalshi's Bitcoin perpetual futures and other crypto products opened the door for other exchanges to list similar products as futures. The complaint also mentioned steps that allowed Coinbase to facilitate U.S. access to certain offshore perps.

The CFTC has defended its classification of these contracts as futures rather than swaps, stating that 'perpetual futures are futures.' Chairman Mike Selig plans to continue his pro-innovation agenda and bring security futures, security perpetuals, and other asset types to market. He aims to keep the US as the crypto capital of the world.