CFTC Says CME Lacks Standing in Suit Over Crypto Perpetual Futures Approval

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has asked a federal court to dismiss CME Group's lawsuit over the approval of crypto perpetual futures, arguing that the exchange lacks standing to sue.

Crypto media outlet Cointelegraph reported on Sept. 3 that the CFTC filed its motion to dismiss with the US District Court for the District of Columbia. The office of CFTC Chair Mike Selig argued that CME does not have the legal right to bring the case.

The dispute began in June, when the CFTC approved prediction-market platform Kalshi's perpetual futures contracts tied to Bitcoin spot prices and issued a no-action letter for a similar product from Coinbase.

CME objected at the time, arguing that the decision was made under Selig's direction without a formal vote by the CFTC's five commissioners. The exchange also sued, arguing that permitting perpetual futures with no expiration by classifying them as swaps violates the Commodity Exchange Act.

The CFTC countered that CME has failed to show actual financial harm or a specific competitive injury. In its filing, the agency said any CFTC-registered exchange can list digital-asset perpetual futures, making it difficult to argue that CME was harmed by the decision.

On that basis, the CFTC said CME does not satisfy the requirements for standing to seek a ruling on the merits. The agency argued that the court should dismiss the case before considering whether the perpetual futures approval process was lawful.

The CFTC had previously dismissed CME's case as baseless when the exchange first sued. Selig and the agency have requested oral argument on the dismissal motion, and no hearing date has been set.