The fight over US crypto perps moved deeper into court on Friday, when the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a brief against CME Group's legal challenge to its perpetual futures policy. The agency argues that claims of more competition, without any plausible imminent financial injury, do not give CME standing to sue.

The CFTC opened the door to perps in May by approving Kalshi's first bitcoin perpetual and said it would regulate such products case by case as futures. CME insists contracts with no expiry are swaps, which would put them under a different regulatory regime. The CFTC already asked a federal judge to dismiss the case in September.

The CFTC noted that CME's own crypto futures volume has risen since the policy shift, and accused the exchange of telling investors on earnings calls that perps are not substitutes for its futures.

TD Cowen policy analyst Jaret Seiberg said CME may still hold the edge on both standing and the swaps argument. The outcome will decide how fast a domestic perps market can grow.