On Wednesday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission requested that a U.S. federal court dismiss a legal challenge brought by CME Group concerning the regulator’s endorsement of digital asset perpetual futures.
Within a filing submitted to the District Court of Columbia, the CFTC characterized CME’s legal action as “much ado about nothing,” asserting that its allegations regarding competitive harm are meritless and devoid of legal standing.
CME initiated legal action against the CFTC on June 18, challenging a May 29 directive that greenlit Kalshi’s bitcoin perpetual futures product, along with a guidance allowing other designated contract markets to offer comparable contracts as futures. CME contended that these financial instruments ought to be categorized as swaps pursuant to the Commodity Exchange Act and the Dodd-Frank Act, and asserted that the CFTC bypassed standard rulemakings to grant the green light.
“In short, by authorizing Kalshi and others to enter the derivatives marketplace by listing similar cryptocurrency perpetuals as futures, the CFTC ushered new entrants into CME’s retail futures market that seek to compete with CME for retail customers,” CME stated in its complaint.
Lacks standing
In the filing presented on Wednesday, the CFTC argued that CME failed to reasonably establish a plausible competitive harm, noting that the exchange possesses the liberty to offer the exact same perpetual futures as Kalshi. Additionally, the regulatory body pointed out that CME has previously stated publicly that its clientele has not requested such products.
Moreover, monthly trading volume statistics for CME referenced in the legal brief indicate that its bitcoin and ether derivative figures were higher across both June and August compared to May, the period when the authorization was issued.
“Thus, even if CME’s vague assertions of competitive injury had any substance, those injuries are entirely self-inflicted and based on CME’s refusal to list perpetual futures for trading,” the CFTC asserted.
As per the CFTC’s perspective, CME would fail to remedy “any purported injury” even if the commission decided to redesignate perpetual futures as swaps, given that Kalshi and alternative DCMs would simply provide the identical contracts under that alternative classification. The compliance and tax distinctions separating swaps and futures are insufficient to substantiate CME’s claims, according to the regulator.
Furthermore, the agency noted that lawmakers structured the Commodity Exchange Act to prioritize self-regulation, market soundness, and “responsible innovation and fair competition among boards of trade.” The CFTC maintained that CME’s litigation aiming to suppress competition and innovation “turns that purpose on its head.”
The commission has asked for an oral argument. CME’s response opposing the motion must be submitted by October 2. The Block has contacted CME to obtain a statement.
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Originally published at https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-09-02-cftc-dismiss-cme-413416.
