CME Chief Executive Officer Terrence Duffy said the derivatives provider plans to sue the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) after approving perpetual futures products earlier this month.
The CFTC’s approval of Kalshi’s perpetual futures product did not meet the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act governing swaps, he told CNBC on Wednesday.
“Under the Dodd-Frank Act, it clearly defines what an exchange is and what a future is, and when two parties exchange payments, that is considered an exchange,” he said. “So these products that he supposedly approved as futures contracts are not futures contracts, they would be swaps, and if they are swaps, and let’s say, as you know, there are different requirements for participating in the swaps market.”
Duffy, who leaves office next year, said CME “should first understand what the rules of the road are” before considering listing its own perpetual futures contracts, but that those rules are not “very clear” at present.
