CME Sues CFTC Over Crypto Perpetual Futures
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- CME Group filed a lawsuit against the CFTC over crypto perpetual futures, one day after CEO Terrence Duffy announced the legal action during a CNBC interview.
- CFTC Chair Selig defended the agency's stance in a Monday CNBC interview, claiming the Commodity Exchange Act "does not define the term 'futures contract'" and that perpetuals "trade very similarly" to other derivatives.
- A CFTC spokesperson called CME's complaint "frivolous" and accused the exchange of waging "lawfare" against the agency and the administration's crypto policies.
- Kraken announced it will launch perpetual futures trading for US users through CFTC-regulated platform Bitnomial, adding a new entrant into the same product category at the center of the dispute.
- Selig, confirmed by the US Senate in December 2025, remains the CFTC's sole commissioner — the panel is designed for five members, but as of Thursday Trump had not announced any nominations despite congressional pressure to do so.
Why it matters: CME's suit challenges the legal basis for the CFTC's oversight of perpetual futures, and the fight lands at an understaffed agency: Selig is the sole commissioner with Trump yet to nominate replacements for the four empty seats. The outcome will determine whether one of crypto's most-traded products can be listed on the largest US derivatives exchange.
