Coinbase, Kalshi, Kraken, DRW, Jump and Paradigm back CFTC in perps suit

The CFTC's first-time clearance of perpetual futures on individual stocks — "equity perps" — now faces a court test in the Southern District of New York, with Coinbase, Kalshi, Kraken parent Payward, DRW, Jump Trading and Paradigm filing in support of the agency. The Capital Markets Alliance — backed by Cboe, Citadel Securities and the Healthy Markets Association — is suing to block the policy, arguing single-stock perps are securities-based swaps that belong under SEC jurisdiction and that the CFTC violated the Administrative Procedure Act by reversing an earlier stance without explanation.

• Chair Michael Selig framed the clearance as giving U.S. traders a regulated alternative to offshore venues; onchain perps on Hyperliquid have logged over $630 billion in volume in the past month.
• The American Securities Association also criticized the move, and the suit parallels CME Group's existing challenge to the CFTC's bitcoin-perp policy.