Digital-Asset Firms Back CFTC in Dispute Over Stock Perpetual Futures

Several digital-asset firms have sided with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in litigation concerning the agency’s power to oversee perpetual futures contracts tied to individual equities. The group — including Coinbase Global, Kalshi, Payward (Kraken’s parent), DRW Holdings, Jump Trading and Paradigm — submitted a supportive letter to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The action responds to a lawsuit brought this month by the Capital Markets Alliance (CMA), which challenged the CFTC’s greenlight for open-ended futures on stocks, similar to perpetual contracts commonly traded in crypto derivatives markets. CMA’s complaint contends that such equity-linked products should fall under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) jurisdiction and not the CFTC’s authority.

What the firms argued

In their court filing, the digital-asset companies urged the court to uphold the CFTC’s regulatory role. Several of these firms — notably Coinbase, Kalshi and Payward — have pending applications to list U.S. stock perpetuals; those applications were deemed approved on Nov. 2. The letter emphasizes support for a regulatory framework that the signatories view as consistent with the agency’s mandate.

Perpetual futures are derivative instruments that enable market participants to speculate on an asset’s future price without a fixed expiration date, distinguishing them from conventional futures contracts. Proponents argue the structure provides continuous exposure while regulators and critics raise questions about oversight and investor protections.

Responses and context

The CMA is backed by several large traditional-finance firms, including broker-dealers such as Cboe and Citadel Securities, and challenges whether the CFTC’s approval was proper. When the CMA filed its lawsuit on Nov. 3, a CFTC spokesperson described the legal challenge as “troubling,” warning against using the courts as a means to block innovation rather than letting markets be governed by law.

Stakeholders on both sides — legacy financial institutions, crypto-native platforms and regulators — are now positioned to contest where the line should be drawn between securities regulation and commodities oversight. The dispute could shape how derivatives on equities, particularly perpetual contracts, are regulated in the U.S. going forward.