CFTC Seeks Dismissal of CME Crypto Futures Lawsuit

The CFTC has asked a federal court to dismiss CME Group's lawsuit challenging its treatment of cryptocurrency perpetual contracts as futures. The regulator argued that CME lacks legal standing because it could list perpetual futures under the same regulatory policy it is challenging.

CME claims the CFTC's decision gave newer exchanges an unfair competitive advantage by allowing them to offer perpetual contracts under the futures framework. However, the CFTC disputes this claim, saying that CME is a designated contract market and can seek permission to list perpetual futures under the same process available to Kalshi.

The regulator also pointed out that CME's Bitcoin and Ether futures volumes in June and August exceeded their May levels, when the Kalshi approval was issued. This suggests that CME has not shown a concrete competitive loss caused by the approval.