U.S. CFTC rebuffs CME legal stance in consequential fight over perpetual futures
The U.S. CFTC has filed a brief to dismiss a lawsuit from CME Group regarding the regulation of perpetual crypto futures. The agency argues that CME lacks legal standing to challenge the policy, as the company has failed to demonstrate imminent financial injury.
Why it matters
This legal battle is central to the future of crypto derivatives regulation in the U.S. and the competitive landscape between traditional exchanges and new crypto-native products.
"Allegations of increased competition, without any plausible inference of an imminent financial injury," don't give CME the legal standing to challenge the CFTC's actions, the agency said in a brief filed on Friday, noting that volume in crypto futures at the CME has actually risen since its policy shift.
Perp contracts had soared overseas, becoming a major form of transaction in crypto derivatives, and the CFTC's move sought to clarify how the market could get rolling in the U.S. The agency — in response to President Donald Trump's aggressive crypto agenda that included bringing perps into domestic trading — said it'll regulate the products on a case-by-case basis as futures .
Perps allow traders to speculate on the future price of an asset with a typically leveraged position, and the contracts don't come with a built-in expiration.
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