- The CFTC asked a federal court to dismiss CME Group’s lawsuit challenging its approval of Kalshi’s bitcoin perpetual futures contract.
- The regulator said CME had not convincingly shown that competition from Kalshi caused it harm and could list similar products itself.
- CME argues that perpetual contracts should be regulated as swaps rather than futures.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission asked a federal court to dismiss CME Group’s lawsuit over the approval of crypto perpetual futures, according to court documents cited by The Block on Sept. 2, 2026. The case matters because CME is challenging the regulator’s classification of the contracts as futures and says the decision gives Kalshi and other venues an unfair advantage in competing for retail clients.
In its motion, the CFTC called CME’s claims “much ado about nothing.” The regulator said the operator of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange had failed to demonstrate convincingly that the emergence of a new competitor had harmed it.
The CFTC said CME, as a registered designated contract market, can offer similar perpetual futures itself.
“Even if CME’s vague allegations of competitive harm have some basis, that harm is entirely self-inflicted because the company has refused to list perpetual futures,” the CFTC said.
The commission also said trading volumes for CME’s bitcoin and Ethereum futures were higher in June and August than in May, before the disputed decision. According to the regulator, those figures further call CME’s claims of competitive harm into question.
Why CME sued the CFTC
On May 29, 2026, the CFTC approved Kalshi’s BTCPERP contract, which is tied to bitcoin’s spot price. The regulator allowed the perpetual contract to be classified as a futures contract rather than a swap.
That same day, the commission published a separate policy for listing such contracts, allowing for the review of similar products covering other asset classes.
Trading volume in Kalshi’s contract exceeded $100 million during its first 24 hours, according to CNBC. Kalshi later introduced perpetual futures on other crypto assets.
Total trading volume in Kalshi’s perpetual futures reached $4.7 billion during the week from Aug. 23 through Aug. 30, 2026, according to data from Artemis.
CME Group sued the CFTC and its chairman, Michael Selig, on June 18. The company argues that the Commodity Exchange Act and the Dodd-Frank reforms require perpetual contracts to be treated as swaps and that the regulator improperly classified them as futures.
CME also said the decision provides Kalshi and other trading venues with an unfair advantage in competing for retail clients.
The CFTC rejected that argument. The commission said reclassifying the products as swaps would not eliminate CME’s alleged harm because competitors could continue offering similar instruments under a different regulatory regime. It also accused CME of using the lawsuit to restrict innovation and competition.
The CFTC requested an oral hearing. CME’s response to the dismissal motion is expected by Oct. 2, 2026.
Source: Incrypted
