Coinbase launches US perpetual futures as CME sues to block
In brief
- Coinbase launched nano Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures on its CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange.
- Perpetuals account for 90%+ of global derivatives volume, historically traded offshore.
- CME sued the CFTC on June 18, arguing perpetuals are swaps requiring heavier regulation.
- Kalshi self-certified over a dozen crypto perpetuals since May 29, exceeding $1 billion in volume.
- CFTC invited other exchanges to offer perpetuals via the same regulatory pathway.
The offshore shift
For years, perpetual futures activity happened almost entirely on exchanges outside American oversight, with US traders accessing offshore platforms through VPNs. Derivatives themselves account for roughly 80% of all crypto trading, and perpetuals dominate that segment. The barrier to domestic legality broke on May 29, when the CFTC approved KalshiEX's BTCPERP as a futures contract referencing Bitcoin's spot price. Two weeks later, the CFTC handed designated contract markets a conditional route to strip expiration dates off existing perpetual-style crypto futures and convert them into genuine no-expiry contracts. The CFTC issued a policy statement inviting other exchanges to bring perpetual-style contracts through the same regulatory door as Kalshi.
CME's legal challenge
The speed caught the CME off guard. On June 18, CME sued the CFTC and Chairman Michael Selig in the District of Columbia, asking a judge to vacate the Kalshi order. CME's position is that perpetuals meet the statutory definition of swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act, which would pull them into a heavier regulatory regime.
The distinction matters. Swaps face stricter position limits, reporting requirements, and capital rules. Futures, by contrast, can clear through the CME's centralized infrastructure (and generate fees for CME). Kalshi has self-certified more than a dozen additional crypto perpetuals under the order and trading in them has already passed $1 billion.
The outcome will reshape how crypto derivatives settle in America. If CME prevails, perpetuals may face years of regulatory limbo. If the CFTC's position holds, the floodgates open—and the liquidation engine that once lived offshore becomes a fixture of US regulated markets.
