CFTC Chairman Mike Selig has signaled a major push to expand crypto derivatives and other products in the U.S., emphasizing collaboration with the US SEC to end past regulatory turf wars. This comes as CME Group announced plans to sue the CFTC over the recent approval of perpetual futures contracts.
CFTC Chairman Mike Selig Signals Crypto Futures and Perpetual
CFTC Chairman Mike Selig revealed that the regulator is working with the US SEC and Chair Paul Atkins to bring security futures, security perpetuals, and other types of assets to market. He added that the move aims to keep the US as the crypto capital of the world.
Mike Selig stated that past conflicts between the CFTC and SEC had sidelined novel products and innovators, but those days are over. This comes amid the SEC-CFTC harmonization initiative to create a unified crypto regulatory framework.
Selig also highlighted a no-action letter for swap post-trade risk reduction services (PTRRS), including portfolio rebalancing and basis risk mitigation.
“Market participants should not be penalized with onerous requirements for engaging in activities that reduce their portfolio risk,” said CFTC Chair Mike Selig. He added that the Dodd-Frank Act massively over-regulated such services. The regulator aims to provide relief from over-regulation in the act to boost innovation.
These statements come amid recent CFTC approvals for Kalshi and Coinbase to offer perpetual futures. Notably, CFTC has approved HYPE, ETH, XRP, SOL and other perps on Kalshi following Bitcoin perpetual futures’ approval last month.
CME Group to Sue CFTC Over Perpetual Futures Approvals
CME Group plans to file a lawsuit against the CFTC as soon as June 18, outgoing CME CEO Terry Duffy confirmed on CNBC’s Fast Money. The lawsuit will target the CFTC’s approval of products like Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual futures and other crypto products.
Duffy argued perpetual futures should be treated as swaps under the Dodd-Frank Act rather than ordinary futures. This legal challenge comes as the CFTC under Mike Selig expands access to crypto perpetual derivatives platforms and eases regulatory burdens.
This has created tensions with traditional exchanges like CME that long dominated U.S. futures markets. “We have an exclusive license with every single provider of the benchmarks. So all of these would have to go through CME regardless of the perpetual,” CME Group CEO added.
#NEW @CMEGroup to sue CFTC over the approval of perpetual futures as soon as tomorrow.
Outgoing CEO Terry Duffy speaks to Fast Money exclusively on the lawsuit and his decision to retire. https://t.co/g6Kjz4c5bC
— CNBC’s Fast Money (@CNBCFastMoney) June 17, 2026
