✓ Official source
CFTC tells a federal court CME has shown no harm from U.S. perpetual futures and its suit should be dismissed
Summary
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a reply brief on Oct. 16 asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to dismiss CME’s lawsuit over the agency’s approval of perpetual futures on digital assets, arguing CME lacks standing because it has not shown any financial injury, according to the filing and CoinDesk.
CME, which sued after the CFTC approved Kalshi’s bitcoin perpetual in May, argues the contracts have no expiry and should be regulated as swaps rather than futures, CoinDesk reported.
The CFTC pointed to CME’s own volume data, saying trading in its crypto futures is higher than before the May approval, and to CME executives telling investors they have not heard customer demand for perpetuals; “CME cannot have it one way with the Court and another way with the investing public on earnings calls,” the brief says.
TD Cowen analyst Jaret Seiberg wrote Monday that CME may still have the edge on standing and on its swaps argument, but warned that continued growth in perps during the litigation could make the market harder to unwind if CME wins, CoinDesk reported.
Key facts
- A table in the brief, built from CME monthly volume reports, shows CME’s crypto futures rising from 2,660,960 contracts in May 2026 to 3,282,530 in September, a net gain of 621,570, with Link futures the only product lower than in May (down 340 contracts).
- The same table shows Micro XRP futures volume rising from 44,729 contracts in May to 113,936 in September, and XRP futures from 46,749 to 59,117.
- The brief cites CME’s CEO saying 94% of its volume in the first half of 2026 came from institutional customers, and argues that any competition from perpetuals is limited to CME’s retail business.
- In its earlier motion to dismiss, the CFTC said its order lets any CFTC-registered exchange, including CME, list perpetual futures on digital assets, so any competitive harm is “self-inflicted.”
- CoinDesk said CME spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the CFTC’s latest filing.
- The case is Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. v. Selig, No. 1:26-cv-02157, before Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who denied a CFTC motion for discovery on CME’s standing on Sept. 28.