CFTC Requests Dismissal of CME's Lawsuit Regarding Bitcoin Perpetual Contracts

On September 2, the CFTC requested a federal court to dismiss the lawsuit filed by CME regarding Kalshi's Bitcoin perpetual contracts. The case discusses whether contracts without a fixed expiration date are applicable under the U.S. futures regime, which could impact regulated markets. The CFTC argued that CME failed to demonstrate any harm that the court could remedy and pointed out that CME could launch comparable digital commodity products with similar structures, undermining its claims of competitive harm. The lawsuit was initiated by CME on June 18, attempting to overturn the CFTC's approval of KalshiEX's Bitcoin perpetual contracts and related policy statements on May 29. CME must file an opposition to the dismissal request by October 2. The CFTC stipulated in May that designated markets could list perpetual contracts linked to Bitcoin and similar structured digital commodities that have deep, active, and continuous spot markets. Coinbase promotes perpetual-style futures on its derivatives page, allowing 24/7 trading linked to Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana, describing these contracts as products with a five-year expiration time. The CFTC also initiated a public comment request on 24/7 trading of energy commodities that can be stored and physical settlement perpetual contracts, involving crude oil, with Kalshi preparing to seek approval for a version linked to WTI.

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