CFTC cites CME data to argue against challenge to perpetual futures

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has found an unusual weapon in its legal fight against CME Group: CME’s own numbers. In court filings defending its approval of Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual futures contract, the CFTC is pointing to CME’s trading data and statements from its own executives to argue that the exchange hasn’t actually been hurt by the new product. What happened and why it matters The CFTC approved Kalshi’s BTCPERP contract on May 29, 2026, making it the first US-regulated Bitcoin perpetual futures product. CME Group filed suit on June 18, 2026, challenging both the product’s classification as a futures contract and the process the agency used to approve it. CME’s core argument is that the CFTC bypassed standard regulatory procedures and that the approval threatens competition in the futures market. The lawsuit is being heard by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, and the CFTC has moved to dismiss the case, though the court had not yet ruled as of mid-October 2026. The immediate legal question isn’t about the merits of perpetual futures regulation. It’s narrower than that: whether CME has legal standing to challenge the approval in the first place. To establish standing...