CME Group has filed a lawsuit against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission challenging the agency's approval of Kalshi's perpetual futures contracts.
The suit, filed on Thursday, alleges that the CFTC failed to properly analyze whether Kalshi's Bitcoin perpetual futures qualify as futures or swaps under the Dodd-Frank Act. It asks a court to vacate the approval granted at the end of May.
CME argues the products are swaps rather than futures, which would trigger different regulatory requirements. The lawsuit states that the CFTC "did not engage in its own analysis" and "rubberstamped Kalshi's application."
On the same day as the approval, the CFTC issued a no-action letter to Coinbase regarding similar products. Outgoing CME CEO Terry Duffy had announced plans to sue the prior day.
Former StarkWare General Counsel Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos noted there is no clear precedent on whether lack of expiry determines futures classification.
