CME Group (NASDAQ: $CME) has moved its fight against crypto-style perpetual futures into court, suing the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission after the regulator cleared Kalshi's plan to list the derivatives product in the United States.
The lawsuit targets the CFTC's decision to treat Kalshi's "perp" futures as futures rather than swaps, a classification that CME says allows the contracts to move forward under lighter oversight. CME argues the decision weakens safeguards created after the financial crisis under Dodd-Frank and creates uncertainty around a product structure that has become one of crypto's heavily traded markets.
Perpetual futures let traders maintain positions without a fixed expiration date, making them a core product on offshore crypto venues. Bringing that structure into the U.S. through a regulated prediction-market platform would give Kalshi another way to compete with larger exchange operators as retail access to event contracts and crypto-linked derivatives expands.
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CME's argument goes beyond Kalshi's product launch. The exchange says the CFTC's approval gives Kalshi a faster route into a market that should face stricter swap-style rules, including safeguards around risk management and market stability.
The challenge also highlights the pressure building around Kalshi. The platform has already recorded more than $5 billion in perpetual trading volume, according to the report, and has argued that its contracts are not riskier than traditional futures. The CFTC and Coinbase have defended the shift as a way to support innovation and competition in U.S. markets.
CME shares have fallen roughly 9% since the CFTC ruling, a sign investors are watching the threat from newer venues more closely. CME CEO Terry Duffy rejected any connection between the lawsuit and his planned retirement, while continuing to raise concerns about regulatory uncertainty and market integrity.
The case turns a crypto derivatives product into a test of how far U.S. regulators can go in reshaping market structure without triggering a fight from incumbent exchanges.
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) is currently trading at $247.65 U.S. per share.