The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has asked a Washington, D.C. court to dismiss CME Group’s lawsuit over Kalshi’s bitcoin perpetual futures product, after Kalshi’s cash-settled BTCPERP was approved on May 29.

The dispute focuses on Kalshi’s BTCPERP contract, which is cash-settled, tracks spot bitcoin prices through a funding-rate mechanism, and has no expiration date. CME argues those features make the product a swap rather than a futures contract.

According to the filing described in the case, CME’s position is that the absence of a delivery date and the use of continuous payments place the contract outside the normal structure of listed futures. That challenge goes to the core of whether a perpetual-style bitcoin product can be offered within a U.S. regulated futures framework.

The CFTC pushed back by asking the court to throw out CME’s suit and calling the issue “overblown.” The regulator also argued that CME itself could list similar products, underscoring that the dispute is not only about legal interpretation but also about competition in the U.S. crypto derivatives market.

The agency further pointed to CME’s bitcoin futures trading volumes for June and August as being higher than in May, seeking to undercut any claim that Kalshi’s product caused meaningful harm. CME now faces an October 2 deadline to respond, making that filing the next procedural step in the case.

Why It Matters

This case could shape how U.S. regulators and courts treat perpetual-style crypto contracts on regulated venues. That matters because perpetuals are one of the most widely used structures in global crypto derivatives, but their fit within U.S. market rules has remained contested.

The dispute also highlights a broader shift in market structure. If products that resemble offshore crypto perpetuals can be listed under domestic oversight, U.S. exchanges may get a clearer path to compete for that activity inside regulated markets rather than leaving demand concentrated elsewhere.