{"id":45804,"date":"2026-06-18T13:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T13:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804"},"modified":"2026-06-18T13:50:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T13:50:00","slug":"cme-group-to-sue-cftc-over-bitcoin-perpetual-futures-approval-in-clash-over-dodd-frank-classification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804","title":{"rendered":"CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bitcoin Magazine<\/a>
\n
\nCME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The CME Group said that it plans to file a lawsuit against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over the agency\u2019s approval of crypto perpetual futures, setting up a direct legal confrontation between the world\u2019s largest futures exchange operator and its own regulator.<\/p>\n

Outgoing CME CEO Terrence Duffy made the announcement on CNBC\u2019s \u201cFast Money,\u201d saying<\/a> the company would file litigation today. CME later confirmed the plans to Reuters. The lawsuit targets the CFTC\u2019s decision in late May to allow prediction market platform Kalshi to offer<\/a> bitcoin perpetual futures \u2014 a first for the United States.<\/p>\n

At the center of the legal argument is a classification dispute under the Dodd-Frank Act. Duffy contends that perpetual futures, known as \u201cperps,\u201d are not futures at all but swaps, and therefore subject to a different set of clearing, reporting, and trading-venue requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder the Dodd-Frank Act, it defines what a swap is and what a future is, and when there\u2019s two parties exchanging payments to each other, that\u2019s deemed a swap,\u201d Duffy told CNBC.<\/p>\n

Perpetual futures are derivatives contracts with no expiration date. Rather than settling on a fixed date, they rely on periodic funding payments exchanged between traders. The products can carry leverage of up to 50-to-1, magnifying both gains and losses. Long a fixture on offshore crypto exchanges, they have never before been offered through domestic, regulated venues in the United States.<\/p>\n

Kalshi and Coinbase get CFTC clearance\u00a0<\/h2>\n

The CFTC changed that in late May when it approved Kalshi\u2019s bitcoin perp contract. The agency then cleared Coinbase to connect U.S. customers to offshore perpetual futures trading. CFTC Chair Michael Selig has defended both decisions as a way to bring a major segment of crypto derivatives activity under domestic regulation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time to approve regulated futures contracts that have no expiration date,\u201d Selig told CNBC\u2019s \u201cFast Money\u201d earlier this week. \u201cWe\u2019re going to make sure the product\u2019s available, but it\u2019s well regulated here in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CFTC pushed back against CME\u2019s legal threat. A spokesperson told<\/a> Reuters the agency looked forward to addressing the claims and called the lawsuit \u201cfrivolous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duffy said he had spent eight months preparing the challenge with CME\u2019s board and made clear the company viewed the approval process itself as flawed, arguing the CFTC had cleared a novel instrument faster than typical review procedures would allow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also pointed to CME\u2019s exclusive licenses on key market benchmarks, arguing that competing perpetual contracts would need to route through CME regardless of how the products are classified.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have an exclusive license with every single provider of the benchmarks,\u201d Duffy said. \u201cAll of these would have to go through CME regardless of the perpetual.\u201d<\/p>\n

The announcement came the same day CME named Duffy\u2019s successor. He will step down in March 2027, handing the chief executive role to President and CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick, who will become<\/a> CME\u2019s first female CEO.<\/p>\n

CME\u2019s lawsuit arrived on a day that proved difficult for the CFTC on another front. A federal judge in the Western District of Michigan, Paul L. Maloney, denied<\/a> Polymarket\u2019s request for a preliminary injunction against Michigan regulators and ruled that sports-related prediction market wagers are not swaps and therefore fall outside CFTC jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Maloney wrote that the agency\u2019s interpretation of its own authority over derivatives was \u201cso vast that it would encompass vast swaths of activity never understood to be associated with the financial industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

This post CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification<\/a> first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine<\/a> and is written by Micah Zimmerman<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bitcoin Magazine CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification The CME Group said that it plans to file a lawsuit against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over the agency\u2019s approval of crypto perpetual futures, setting up a direct legal confrontation between the world\u2019s largest futures exchange […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45805,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bitcoin"],"yoast_head":"\nCME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification - Cryptomag<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification - Cryptomag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bitcoin Magazine CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification The CME Group said that it plans to file a lawsuit against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over the agency\u2019s approval of crypto perpetual futures, setting up a direct legal confrontation between the world\u2019s largest futures exchange […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cryptomag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-18T13:50:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CME-Group-to-Sue-CFTC-Over-Bitcoin-Perpetual-Futures-Approval-in-Clash-Over-Dodd-Frank-Classification.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Crypto Magazine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cryptomagz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cryptomagz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Crypto Magazine\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=45804#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=45804\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Crypto Magazine\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f749cd846c4f13ef717c12a20ce9d040\"},\"headline\":\"CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T13:50:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=45804\"},\"wordCount\":645,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=45804#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/CME-Group-to-Sue-CFTC-Over-Bitcoin-Perpetual-Futures-Approval-in-Clash-Over-Dodd-Frank-Classification-UbSCUF.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Bitcoin\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=45804\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=45804\",\"name\":\"CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification - Cryptomag\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=45804#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=45804#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/CME-Group-to-Sue-CFTC-Over-Bitcoin-Perpetual-Futures-Approval-in-Clash-Over-Dodd-Frank-Classification-UbSCUF.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-18T13:50:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f749cd846c4f13ef717c12a20ce9d040\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=45804#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=45804\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=45804#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/CME-Group-to-Sue-CFTC-Over-Bitcoin-Perpetual-Futures-Approval-in-Clash-Over-Dodd-Frank-Classification-UbSCUF.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/CME-Group-to-Sue-CFTC-Over-Bitcoin-Perpetual-Futures-Approval-in-Clash-Over-Dodd-Frank-Classification-UbSCUF.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?p=45804#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cryptomag\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f749cd846c4f13ef717c12a20ce9d040\",\"name\":\"Crypto Magazine\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2c24e7a3322cdb9140c7dde381c870ae2c527e0dc5af67ed7a7db042bb2e1d14?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2c24e7a3322cdb9140c7dde381c870ae2c527e0dc5af67ed7a7db042bb2e1d14?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2c24e7a3322cdb9140c7dde381c870ae2c527e0dc5af67ed7a7db042bb2e1d14?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Crypto Magazine\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/cryptomagz\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cryptomag.finance\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification - Cryptomag","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification - Cryptomag","og_description":"Bitcoin Magazine CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification The CME Group said that it plans to file a lawsuit against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over the agency\u2019s approval of crypto perpetual futures, setting up a direct legal confrontation between the world\u2019s largest futures exchange […]","og_url":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804","og_site_name":"Cryptomag","article_published_time":"2026-06-18T13:50:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/CME-Group-to-Sue-CFTC-Over-Bitcoin-Perpetual-Futures-Approval-in-Clash-Over-Dodd-Frank-Classification.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Crypto Magazine","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cryptomagz","twitter_site":"@cryptomagz","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Crypto Magazine","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804"},"author":{"name":"Crypto Magazine","@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/#\/schema\/person\/f749cd846c4f13ef717c12a20ce9d040"},"headline":"CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification","datePublished":"2026-06-18T13:50:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804"},"wordCount":645,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/wp-content\/uploads\/CME-Group-to-Sue-CFTC-Over-Bitcoin-Perpetual-Futures-Approval-in-Clash-Over-Dodd-Frank-Classification-UbSCUF.jpg","articleSection":["Bitcoin"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804","url":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804","name":"CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification - Cryptomag","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/wp-content\/uploads\/CME-Group-to-Sue-CFTC-Over-Bitcoin-Perpetual-Futures-Approval-in-Clash-Over-Dodd-Frank-Classification-UbSCUF.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-18T13:50:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/#\/schema\/person\/f749cd846c4f13ef717c12a20ce9d040"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/wp-content\/uploads\/CME-Group-to-Sue-CFTC-Over-Bitcoin-Perpetual-Futures-Approval-in-Clash-Over-Dodd-Frank-Classification-UbSCUF.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/wp-content\/uploads\/CME-Group-to-Sue-CFTC-Over-Bitcoin-Perpetual-Futures-Approval-in-Clash-Over-Dodd-Frank-Classification-UbSCUF.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=45804#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Bitcoin Perpetual Futures Approval in Clash Over Dodd-Frank Classification"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/","name":"Cryptomag","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/#\/schema\/person\/f749cd846c4f13ef717c12a20ce9d040","name":"Crypto Magazine","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c24e7a3322cdb9140c7dde381c870ae2c527e0dc5af67ed7a7db042bb2e1d14?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c24e7a3322cdb9140c7dde381c870ae2c527e0dc5af67ed7a7db042bb2e1d14?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c24e7a3322cdb9140c7dde381c870ae2c527e0dc5af67ed7a7db042bb2e1d14?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Crypto Magazine"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/cryptomag.finance","https:\/\/x.com\/cryptomagz"],"url":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}