Cboe Joins CMA Lawsuit Seeking to Overturn CFTC Stock Perpetual Approval

Cboe has joined the Capital Markets Alliance (CMA) in asking a federal court to undo the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s approval of U.S. single-stock perpetual contracts, raising a dispute over the products’ regulatory path.

CMA, an industry organization, filed the case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. It asks the court to rescind the approval, classify the contracts as security-based swaps and block the approval from taking effect while the case proceeds.

The products are perpetual derivatives tied to individual U.S. stocks; the case names Coinbase, Kalshi and Bitnomial.

On Nov. 3, the CFTC announced that single-stock perpetual contracts could begin trading on registered exchanges immediately. Cboe CEO Craig Donohue said the derivatives should trade on platforms regulated under U.S. securities laws.

The dispute puts the U.S. regulatory treatment at issue: CMA seeks securities-law classification, while the CFTC has said the products may trade on registered exchanges.