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Are perpetuals swaps or futures contracts? CME and the CFTC disagree

A recent fight over the CFTC’s position calls into question a complex regulatory taxonomy.

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Alexander Barzacanos

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The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) sued the CFTC over its approval of crypto perpetual contracts, arguing that the agency unlawfully allowed prediction market operator Kalshi to list products that should properly be regulated as swaps instead of futures.

The case turns on a complex question: What exactly is a perpetual

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