Key facts The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) asked a federal judge on 2 September 2026 to dismiss CME's challenge to its approval of crypto perpetual futures. The regulator argued the derivatives exchange cannot show it has been harmed. In its motion, the CFTC said CME lacks constitutional standing because it has not alleged a concrete financial loss. The agency called the dispute a matter of little consequence.
Regulator says CME's alleged injury is self-inflictedThe CFTC said the order CME is challenging allows any registered designated contract market (DCM), including CME, to list similarly structured products. Because CME can list the same contracts but has chosen not to, any harm is self-inflicted, the agency argued. The CFTC also said CME has publicly stated its customers have not asked for perpetual futures. The motion pointed to CME's own figures, which show its bitcoin and ether futures volumes rose in June and August 2026 from May levels.
"This lawsuit is much ado about nothing.", 2 September 2026.
— U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, motion to dismiss
CME argues the contracts are swaps, not futuresCME sued the CFTC in June 2026 after the agency approved Kalshi's BTCPERP contract as a futures contract. The exchange argues that contracts without an expiration date or delivery obligation, and which exchange funding payments between traders, meet the legal definition of swaps rather than futures. CME asked the court to vacate the CFTC's 29 May 2026 order and the policy statement that accompanied it. CME also accused the CFTC of failing to explain why it departed from earlier enforcement cases that treated crypto perpetuals as swaps.
May approval opened a path for bitcoin perpetualsOn 29 May 2026, the CFTC approved KalshiEX's BTCPERP, a cash-settled contract that references bitcoin's spot price. The product trades around the clock, has no expiration date, and uses a funding rate to keep its price close to spot. The approval marked the first time a registered U.S. exchange could list a bitcoin perpetual futures contract. The order also covers similarly structured perpetuals tied to other digital commodities with deep, active and continuous spot markets. Contracts linked to other asset classes remain subject to case-by-case review under an accompanying policy statement.
Bitcoin traded near $81,000 at publicationThe BTCPERP contract at the center of the case tracks bitcoin's spot price. Bitcoin traded at $81,009 at the time of publication, up 4.3% over the past 24 hours (CoinPaprika, 4 September 2026). Its market value stood near $1.63 trillion (CoinPaprika, 4 September 2026).
Court has not ruled on the motionA ruling in CME's favor would not remove the competing products, the CFTC argued, because Kalshi and other DCMs could offer them as swaps. The agency also said CME's effort to shield itself from competition falls outside the interests the Commodity Exchange Act was designed to protect. Last week, the judge rejected the CFTC's request to withhold the case's administrative record until the dismissal motion is decided. The CFTC requested an oral hearing on the motion. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is presiding over the case, and CME must file its opposition to the motion by 2 October 2026. The court has not ruled.
Primary source: Source ↗ The CFTC said the order CME is challenging allows any registered designated contract market (DCM), including CME, to list similarly structured products. Because CME can list the same contracts but has chosen not to, any harm is self-inflicted, the agency argued. The CFTC also said CME has publicly stated its customers have not asked for perpetual futures. The motion pointed to CME's own figures, which show its bitcoin and ether futures volumes rose in June and August 2026 from May levels.
"This lawsuit is much ado about nothing.", 2 September 2026.
— U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, motion to dismiss
CME argues the contracts are swaps, not futuresCME sued the CFTC in June 2026 after the agency approved Kalshi's BTCPERP contract as a futures contract. The exchange argues that contracts without an expiration date or delivery obligation, and which exchange funding payments between traders, meet the legal definition of swaps rather than futures. CME asked the court to vacate the CFTC's 29 May 2026 order and the policy statement that accompanied it. CME also accused the CFTC of failing to explain why it departed from earlier enforcement cases that treated crypto perpetuals as swaps.
May approval opened a path for bitcoin perpetualsOn 29 May 2026, the CFTC approved KalshiEX's BTCPERP, a cash-settled contract that references bitcoin's spot price. The product trades around the clock, has no expiration date, and uses a funding rate to keep its price close to spot. The approval marked the first time a registered U.S. exchange could list a bitcoin perpetual futures contract. The order also covers similarly structured perpetuals tied to other digital commodities with deep, active and continuous spot markets. Contracts linked to other asset classes remain subject to case-by-case review under an accompanying policy statement.
Bitcoin traded near $81,000 at publicationThe BTCPERP contract at the center of the case tracks bitcoin's spot price. Bitcoin traded at $81,009 at the time of publication, up 4.3% over the past 24 hours (CoinPaprika, 4 September 2026). Its market value stood near $1.63 trillion (CoinPaprika, 4 September 2026).
Court has not ruled on the motionA ruling in CME's favor would not remove the competing products, the CFTC argued, because Kalshi and other DCMs could offer them as swaps. The agency also said CME's effort to shield itself from competition falls outside the interests the Commodity Exchange Act was designed to protect. Last week, the judge rejected the CFTC's request to withhold the case's administrative record until the dismissal motion is decided. The CFTC requested an oral hearing on the motion. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is presiding over the case, and CME must file its opposition to the motion by 2 October 2026. The court has not ruled.
Primary source: Source ↗ "This lawsuit is much ado about nothing.", 2 September 2026.
— U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, motion to dismiss
CME argues the contracts are swaps, not futuresCME sued the CFTC in June 2026 after the agency approved Kalshi's BTCPERP contract as a futures contract. The exchange argues that contracts without an expiration date or delivery obligation, and which exchange funding payments between traders, meet the legal definition of swaps rather than futures. CME asked the court to vacate the CFTC's 29 May 2026 order and the policy statement that accompanied it. CME also accused the CFTC of failing to explain why it departed from earlier enforcement cases that treated crypto perpetuals as swaps.
May approval opened a path for bitcoin perpetualsOn 29 May 2026, the CFTC approved KalshiEX's BTCPERP, a cash-settled contract that references bitcoin's spot price. The product trades around the clock, has no expiration date, and uses a funding rate to keep its price close to spot. The approval marked the first time a registered U.S. exchange could list a bitcoin perpetual futures contract. The order also covers similarly structured perpetuals tied to other digital commodities with deep, active and continuous spot markets. Contracts linked to other asset classes remain subject to case-by-case review under an accompanying policy statement.
Bitcoin traded near $81,000 at publicationThe BTCPERP contract at the center of the case tracks bitcoin's spot price. Bitcoin traded at $81,009 at the time of publication, up 4.3% over the past 24 hours (CoinPaprika, 4 September 2026). Its market value stood near $1.63 trillion (CoinPaprika, 4 September 2026).
Court has not ruled on the motionA ruling in CME's favor would not remove the competing products, the CFTC argued, because Kalshi and other DCMs could offer them as swaps. The agency also said CME's effort to shield itself from competition falls outside the interests the Commodity Exchange Act was designed to protect. Last week, the judge rejected the CFTC's request to withhold the case's administrative record until the dismissal motion is decided. The CFTC requested an oral hearing on the motion. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is presiding over the case, and CME must file its opposition to the motion by 2 October 2026. The court has not ruled.
Primary source: Source ↗ CME argues the contracts are swaps, not futuresCME sued the CFTC in June 2026 after the agency approved Kalshi's BTCPERP contract as a futures contract. The exchange argues that contracts without an expiration date or delivery obligation, and which exchange funding payments between traders, meet the legal definition of swaps rather than futures. CME asked the court to vacate the CFTC's 29 May 2026 order and the policy statement that accompanied it. CME also accused the CFTC of failing to explain why it departed from earlier enforcement cases that treated crypto perpetuals as swaps.
May approval opened a path for bitcoin perpetualsOn 29 May 2026, the CFTC approved KalshiEX's BTCPERP, a cash-settled contract that references bitcoin's spot price. The product trades around the clock, has no expiration date, and uses a funding rate to keep its price close to spot. The approval marked the first time a registered U.S. exchange could list a bitcoin perpetual futures contract. The order also covers similarly structured perpetuals tied to other digital commodities with deep, active and continuous spot markets. Contracts linked to other asset classes remain subject to case-by-case review under an accompanying policy statement.
Bitcoin traded near $81,000 at publicationThe BTCPERP contract at the center of the case tracks bitcoin's spot price. Bitcoin traded at $81,009 at the time of publication, up 4.3% over the past 24 hours (CoinPaprika, 4 September 2026). Its market value stood near $1.63 trillion (CoinPaprika, 4 September 2026).
Court has not ruled on the motionA ruling in CME's favor would not remove the competing products, the CFTC argued, because Kalshi and other DCMs could offer them as swaps. The agency also said CME's effort to shield itself from competition falls outside the interests the Commodity Exchange Act was designed to protect. Last week, the judge rejected the CFTC's request to withhold the case's administrative record until the dismissal motion is decided. The CFTC requested an oral hearing on the motion. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is presiding over the case, and CME must file its opposition to the motion by 2 October 2026. The court has not ruled.
Primary source: Source ↗ CME sued the CFTC in June 2026 after the agency approved Kalshi's BTCPERP contract as a futures contract. The exchange argues that contracts without an expiration date or delivery obligation, and which exchange funding payments between traders, meet the legal definition of swaps rather than futures. CME asked the court to vacate the CFTC's 29 May 2026 order and the policy statement that accompanied it. CME also accused the CFTC of failing to explain why it departed from earlier enforcement cases that treated crypto perpetuals as swaps.
May approval opened a path for bitcoin perpetualsOn 29 May 2026, the CFTC approved KalshiEX's BTCPERP, a cash-settled contract that references bitcoin's spot price. The product trades around the clock, has no expiration date, and uses a funding rate to keep its price close to spot. The approval marked the first time a registered U.S. exchange could list a bitcoin perpetual futures contract. The order also covers similarly structured perpetuals tied to other digital commodities with deep, active and continuous spot markets. Contracts linked to other asset classes remain subject to case-by-case review under an accompanying policy statement.
Bitcoin traded near $81,000 at publicationThe BTCPERP contract at the center of the case tracks bitcoin's spot price. Bitcoin traded at $81,009 at the time of publication, up 4.3% over the past 24 hours (CoinPaprika, 4 September 2026). Its market value stood near $1.63 trillion (CoinPaprika, 4 September 2026).
Court has not ruled on the motionA ruling in CME's favor would not remove the competing products, the CFTC argued, because Kalshi and other DCMs could offer them as swaps. The agency also said CME's effort to shield itself from competition falls outside the interests the Commodity Exchange Act was designed to protect. Last week, the judge rejected the CFTC's request to withhold the case's administrative record until the dismissal motion is decided. The CFTC requested an oral hearing on the motion. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is presiding over the case, and CME must file its opposition to the motion by 2 October 2026. The court has not ruled.
Primary source: Source ↗ On 29 May 2026, the CFTC approved KalshiEX's BTCPERP, a cash-settled contract that references bitcoin's spot price. The product trades around the clock, has no expiration date, and uses a funding rate to keep its price close to spot. The approval marked the first time a registered U.S. exchange could list a bitcoin perpetual futures contract. The order also covers similarly structured perpetuals tied to other digital commodities with deep, active and continuous spot markets. Contracts linked to other asset classes remain subject to case-by-case review under an accompanying policy statement.
Bitcoin traded near $81,000 at publicationThe BTCPERP contract at the center of the case tracks bitcoin's spot price. Bitcoin traded at $81,009 at the time of publication, up 4.3% over the past 24 hours (CoinPaprika, 4 September 2026). Its market value stood near $1.63 trillion (CoinPaprika, 4 September 2026).
Court has not ruled on the motionA ruling in CME's favor would not remove the competing products, the CFTC argued, because Kalshi and other DCMs could offer them as swaps. The agency also said CME's effort to shield itself from competition falls outside the interests the Commodity Exchange Act was designed to protect. Last week, the judge rejected the CFTC's request to withhold the case's administrative record until the dismissal motion is decided. The CFTC requested an oral hearing on the motion. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is presiding over the case, and CME must file its opposition to the motion by 2 October 2026. The court has not ruled.
Primary source: Source ↗ The BTCPERP contract at the center of the case tracks bitcoin's spot price. Bitcoin traded at $81,009 at the time of publication, up 4.3% over the past 24 hours (CoinPaprika, 4 September 2026). Its market value stood near $1.63 trillion (CoinPaprika, 4 September 2026).
Court has not ruled on the motionA ruling in CME's favor would not remove the competing products, the CFTC argued, because Kalshi and other DCMs could offer them as swaps. The agency also said CME's effort to shield itself from competition falls outside the interests the Commodity Exchange Act was designed to protect. Last week, the judge rejected the CFTC's request to withhold the case's administrative record until the dismissal motion is decided. The CFTC requested an oral hearing on the motion. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is presiding over the case, and CME must file its opposition to the motion by 2 October 2026. The court has not ruled.
Primary source: Source ↗ A ruling in CME's favor would not remove the competing products, the CFTC argued, because Kalshi and other DCMs could offer them as swaps. The agency also said CME's effort to shield itself from competition falls outside the interests the Commodity Exchange Act was designed to protect. Last week, the judge rejected the CFTC's request to withhold the case's administrative record until the dismissal motion is decided. The CFTC requested an oral hearing on the motion. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is presiding over the case, and CME must file its opposition to the motion by 2 October 2026. The court has not ruled.
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