Key facts
- The CFTC has filed a motion to dismiss CME Group's lawsuit over crypto perpetual futures.
- The agency argues CME has not demonstrated a plausible competitive injury.
- CFTC maintains that perpetual futures are correctly classified as futures, not swaps.
- CME sued the CFTC in June, challenging the approval of products like Kalshi's Bitcoin perpetual futures.
- CFTC Chairman Mike Selig plans to approve more crypto perpetual futures and other asset types.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has urged a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by CME Group concerning crypto perpetual futures. In a motion filed in the District Court of Columbia, the CFTC, led by Chairman Mike Selig, characterized the case as "much ado about nothing" and asserted that CME lacks standing on its competitive-injury claims.
The agency argued that CME has not shown a plausible competitive injury, noting that the exchange is free to list similar crypto perpetual futures products but has indicated its customers are not requesting them. The CFTC defended its classification of these contracts as futures, stating, "perpetual futures are futures." Furthermore, the commission contended that CME would not recover from any alleged injury even if perpetual futures were reclassified as swaps, as other designated contract markets would likely offer them under such a scenario.