CME to File Suit Against CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval on Thursday

According to CNBC, CME Group plans to file a lawsuit against the CFTC on Thursday (June 19) over its approval of Bitcoin perpetual futures. Outgoing CEO Terry Duffy argued that perpetual futures are legally classified as swaps under the Dodd-Frank Act, not futures, and should be subject to different clearing and reporting rules.

The CFTC approved Kalshi and Coinbase in late May to offer perpetual futures to U.S. traders through regulated exchanges, marking the first time the products became available domestically. Perpetual futures are leveraged derivatives that never expire, with leverage ratios as high as 50-to-1.