CFTC files bid to dismiss CME suit over Kalshi’s Bitcoin perps

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is seeking to dismiss CME’s lawsuit challenging the agency’s approval of Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual futures in May.

According to a Sept. 2 filing shared by Jake Chervinsky, CEO of Hyperliquid Policy Center, the CFTC called the suit “much ado about nothing,” arguing that CME lacks standing and has not presented a viable legal claim.

The agency said CME has not identified any restriction preventing it from offering the same type of perpetual futures, making the lawsuit an attempt to challenge the CFTC’s regulatory classification rather than an actual competitive injury.

The CFTC also defended its decision to classify the products as futures rather than swaps, arguing that “perpetual futures are futures.”

The agency said CME’s core objection is not that the agency lacks authority to approve the contracts, but that it disagrees with how the products were legally classified. It added that CME has failed to show any concrete harm from Kalshi’s contracts.

CME Group has sued the CFTC over the regulator’s decision to let Kalshi offer Bitcoin perpetual futures, setting up a major clash over whether prediction markets can expand into products traditionally offered by derivatives exchanges.

Perps contracts let traders maintain leveraged positions on crypto prices indefinitely because they have no expiration date. The CME argues that the CFTC’s approval violated the Commodity Exchange Act and Dodd-Frank by allowing Kalshi to offer a product that does not meet the traditional characteristics of a futures contract.

CME said the agency’s decision was issued without public comment or reasoned decision-making and has caused “textbook competitive injury” by allowing Kalshi to compete directly for customers in the crypto derivatives market. Kalshi has since brought numerous crypto perpetuals to market.

The CFTC has rejected the challenge, calling it “frivolous” and accusing CME of fighting the administration’s pro-innovation agenda, while Kalshi said CME is simply afraid of competition.

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