Updated Nov 10, 2026, 12:42 p.m. EST Published Nov 10, 2026, 12:07 p.m. EST
3 min read
Summary
- As the digital asset sector pushes back in a judicial confrontation designed to block the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s initiative to permit single-stock perpetual futures contracts within the United States, the industry finds itself aligned with its regulator regarding the position that perpetual contracts are futures rather than swaps.
- Legacy financial institutions have supported a legal challenge against the CFTC to freeze American trading in equity-tied perps, arguing in court that they ought to be classified as securities-based swaps under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s oversight—a position that bears resemblances to the CME Group litigation regarding the CFTC policy on cryptocurrency perpetuals.
Prominent cryptocurrency and prediction platform enterprises have planted their flag firmly on the side of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission once more during ongoing judicial disputes with traditional financial corporations attempting to block perpetual futures trading domestically. A previous major conflict with the CME Group involving crypto perps has now been followed by a dispute over equity perps originating from the traditional securities sector.
In this second controversy, the digital asset sector has presented the legal stance that perpetual contracts tied to individual stocks are not swaps, whereas Citadel Securities and other entities argue they are, which would imply the CFTC lacks the authority to regulate them.
The agency attempted to clear a pathway for single-stock perps—just as it did several months prior for cryptocurrency perps—and the legacy securities sector quickly responded with litigation to halt it. While the lawsuit claimed the commission was exceeding its power and wrongly categorizing these perpetual contracts as futures instead of swaps, the newest arguments originate from firms such as Coinbase, Kraken, and Kalshi, who maintain that the instruments share close similarities with security futures and belong within the identical regulatory framework.
The Capital Markets Alliance—a fresh coalition backed by Citadel Securities, Cboe, and other traditional financial institutions—sued the regulatory body for an emergency injunction, resting on the premise that single-stock perps (agreements lacking an expiration date allowing investors to speculate indefinitely on an equity’s price shifts) meet the criteria for security-based swaps that fall under the authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
This intersects significantly with CME’s argument that crypto perps also constitute swaps, though under that scenario, the CFTC would retain authority over the instruments, albeit subject to vastly different regulations than if they remained classified as futures products.
The crypto sector submitted its explicit arguments in the equity perps litigation, while thus far allowing the CFTC to handle the earlier dispute with CME independently. The fresh legal brief submitted late Monday to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York counters that equity perpetuals represent a superior instrument compared to stock futures and that traditional financial members of the organization “could offer that better product themselves; instead, CMAA sued and sought emergency relief to keep it off the market.”
The industry participants—which also comprise Paradigm, DRW Holdings, and Jump Trading—highlighted that the SEC has participated in the CFTC’s perpetual contract initiatives and is not being bypassed in a turf war over regulatory jurisdiction.
“The question, then, is not whether equity perpetuals resemble security-based swaps, but whether they are security futures—and they are,” the corporations asserted, adding that “both agencies Congress charged with regulating security futures—the CFTC and the SEC—have treated them that way.”
A federal judge initially permitted trading to proceed under the CMA lawsuit while indicating a belief that the coalition’s arguments regarding CFTC overreach held validity. Regarding the CME dispute, the regulator has moved for dismissal, but the matter remains pending judicial determination.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/news-analysis/2026/11/10/crypto-teams-up-with-u-s-government-to-defend-stock-perps-in-legal-fight.
