CME sued the CFTC—and the CFTC hit back with CME’s own financial reports. On October 16, the CFTC filed a 31-page response in federal court in Washington, asking the court to dismiss CME’s lawsuit outright. CME says Bitcoin perpetual futures are taking away its business, but its own data shows that since May, total crypto futures volume has risen from 2.66 million contracts to 3.28 million—a net increase of 620,000. It can’t show even a dollar of harm, let alone explain how that harm could be remedied. What stings even more is that CME Chairman Terry Duffy said on the company’s July earnings call that “customers have never asked for perpetuals,” while institutional clients still accounted for 94% of volume in the first half of 2026. In court, CME says perpetuals threaten its business; on the earnings call, it says customers don’t want them. The CFTC put it bluntly: you can’t tell one story to the court and another to investors. The outcome of this case will directly determine whether a compliant path for perpetual futures can open in the US. For now, that path is already half-open—CME itself has said it has all the necessary technology, but hasn’t heard customers ask for it. #PerpetualFutures