# CME Group Sues CFTC Over Perpetual Futures Approval

*Author: Bankless*
*Published: Jun 18, 2026*
*Source: https://www.bankless.com/es/read/news/cme-group-sues-cftc-over-perpetual-futures-approval*

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The CME Group [filed suit against the CFTC](https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/cme-sues-us-cftc-over-letting-kalshi-coinbase-offer-perpetual-futures-2026-06-18/) and its chair Michael Selig in Washington D.C. federal court Thursday, challenging last month's regulatory approval that opened the door for Kalshi and Coinbase to offer perpetual futures in the U.S. for the first time.

## **What's the Scoop?**
- **The Core Argument:** CME contends that perpetual futures should be classified as swaps under the Dodd-Frank Act rather than futures contracts. CME CEO Terrence Duffy made that case publicly on CNBC a day before the lawsuit dropped, calling perps a "disaster waiting to happen." CME also criticized the CFTC for bypassing a public comment period on Kalshi's application.
- **What CME Wants:** The lawsuit seeks to void the CFTC's May 29th approval for Kalshi to list a bitcoin perpetual future, along with a broader CFTC policy statement that would allow other futures exchanges to offer similar products. CME argues the approvals amount to arbitrary rule-making that directly hands new competitors access to its retail customer base.
- **The CFTC Fires Back:** A CFTC spokesperson didn't mince words, calling the suit "frivolous" and framing it as incumbents trying to block a pro-innovation agenda rather than compete on a level playing field. Kalshi and Coinbase echoed that framing, with Coinbase's chief policy officer calling perps a welcome example of onshoring modern contract structures for American investors.
- **Legal Read:** StarkWare General Counsel Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos [posted a detailed thread](https://x.com/kkirkbos/status/2067629421561786572) breaking down the complaint's strengths and weaknesses. She noted that the post-*Loper Bright* environment cuts both ways: courts now defer less to agencies, which helps CME's swap classification argument, but also means the CFTC's prior treatment of perps as swaps in the Binance enforcement action carries less binding weight. She flagged that "future" has no statutory definition under Dodd-Frank, that the no-notice-and-comment criticism likely has no legal basis, and that Selig acting alone here was permissible under current law.
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