What happened
- Specific facts/numbers: The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday after CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said on November 3, 2026 that perpetual futures on individual US stocks could begin trading; Ledger Insights says Kalshi, Coinbase and Bitnomial submitted applications in September and that CFTC rules deem products approved if the agency does not object within 45 days.
- Institutions involved: The plaintiff is the Capital Markets Alliance; Cboe confirmed it is a member alongside Citadel Securities and the Healthy Markets Association, while the regulatory side centers on the CFTC and, by the contracts’ structure, the SEC.
- Regulatory/technical context: The dispute turns on whether stock perpetuals should be treated as security futures products, as the CFTC chairman’s statement says, or as security-based swaps, as the lawsuit argues; the CFTC statement says the contracts were deemed approved under Commission Regulation 40.3 and are subject to both CFTC and SEC frameworks.
- What to watch next: Watch whether the New York court grants any request to halt trading while the case proceeds and whether regulators or exchanges issue further written explanations; beyond that, no next milestone was identified in the text read.
Why it matters
The case could decide whether US investors get onshore access to equity perpetuals under the CFTC’s framework or whether the products are blocked as improperly classified securities-linked derivatives.
HKMA Relevance
Indirect: A US regulatory and court fight over how to classify perpetuals could influence how other markets, including Hong Kong participants watching cross-border derivatives innovation, assess similar products.