# CME sued its regulator, and might win either way

> Bank of America says CME's fight over perpetual futures pays off whether it wins the case or loses it.
- Title: CME sued its regulator, and might win either way | Shortify
- Summary: Bank of America says CME's fight over perpetual futures pays off whether it wins the case or loses it. CME's lawsuit is a hedge, not a bet: a win adds…
- Keywords: cme, perpetual futures, crypto, exchanges, regulation, business, finance, sued, regulator, might, win, either
- Source: Yahoo Finance — https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/options/articles/93-trillion-trading-boom-puts-160300956.html
- Published: 2026-09-13T16:03:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: cme, perpetual futures, crypto, exchanges, regulation, business, finance
## An exchange sues its own regulator
CME Group is suing the CFTC over perpetual futures, a product that could eat into its futures business. Bank of America thinks the fight helps exchanges regardless of the verdict.

> CME doesn't need to win in court to be the winner.
## What a perp actually is
Perpetual contracts never expire, so traders can hold leveraged exposure without rolling into a new contract every quarter. No strikes, no expiry dates to pick.
## The CFTC opened the door
On May 29 the CFTC accepted KalshiEX's bitcoin perpetual as a futures contract, and said it would judge perps on other asset classes case by case. CME sued three weeks later, on June 18.
## Swaps or futures
CME wants perps reclassified as swaps. That would drag in swap-dealer registration, extra reporting, business-conduct rules and tougher margin, making the contracts harder to offer and less appealing.
## Losing is also fine
If perps stay futures, CME's exclusive licenses on the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Russell 2000 block rivals from copying them. Building a fresh benchmark is easy; pulling liquidity to it is not.
## Delay counts as a win
A procedural court order could force regulators to redo their approval process, stalling new products without ever settling the swaps-versus-futures question. Rivals wait either way.
## The $93 trillion number
CoinGecko puts 2025 centralized perp volume at $86.2 trillion, up 47.4%, plus $6.7 trillion on decentralized venues. That is roughly five times the crypto spot market.
## Leverage cuts both ways
Retail loves perps for the simplicity and the leverage. At 10x, a 10% move against the position can wipe out the margin, per Bank of America.
## Cboe is the one exposed
Perp traders overlap with buyers of S&P 500 0DTE options, and Cboe stock fell about 30% from May 15 to June 30. BofA calls that an overreaction: options offer nonlinear payoffs and institutional hedges perps cannot match.
## ICE is the safe pick
About 95% of ICE's exchange revenue comes from institutions who need physical settlement and hedge accounting. Its March stake in OKX at a $25 billion valuation buys upside too. BofA rates it Buy, CME Underperform.
## Key takeaway

CME's lawsuit is a hedge, not a bet: a win adds swap-style burdens to perps, a loss leaves its exclusive index licenses standing, and a slow case delays every rival.