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SEC and CFTC seek comment on derivatives definitions as perpetual futures dispute intensifies

SEC and CFTC seek comment on derivatives definitions as perpetual futures dispute intensifies

U.S. regulators opened a 60-day Title VII review of swaps and emerging products as CME challenges the CFTC’s approval path for retail-focused perpetual futures-style contracts with implications for crypto markets.

HYPE

Fact Check
The official SEC press release 2026-56 explicitly states the SEC and CFTC issued a joint request for comment to harmonize, modernize, and streamline data reporting for security-based swap and swap markets, seeking input on whether frameworks still fit and reducing costs under Dodd-Frank — matching the claim that the SEC seeks feedback on whether reporting rules fit current market structures while working with the CFTC to reduce duplicative compliance. The CFTC press room listing independently confirms the joint action. Press release 2026-57 reinforces the broader harmonization effort on derivatives definitions.
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Summary

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission launched a joint public comment process on whether existing derivatives definitions under Title VII of Dodd-Frank still fit swaps, security-based swaps, mixed swaps and novel or emerging products. The review comes as CME Group challenges the CFTC’s approval of retail-focused perpetual futures-style contracts for event-contract platforms including Kalshi and Coinbase, sharpening a dispute over whether contracts without expiration dates and with periodic funding mechanics should be treated as futures or swaps. That classification affects clearing, margining, venue approvals, reporting obligations and competition in U.S. derivatives markets, including for crypto-linked products. Hyperliquid Policy Center CEO Jake Chervinsky criticized CME’s lawsuit as a “shocking misjudgment” and an “unforced error,” while commentary cited in the source said CME may have a strong argument, though that is not a court ruling. The comment period is expected to run for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Terms & Concepts
  • perpetual futures: Contracts designed to track an underlying market without a fixed expiration date, often using periodic funding payments to keep prices aligned.
  • mixed swaps: Derivatives that have characteristics of both a swap and a security-based swap, potentially placing them under shared SEC and CFTC oversight.
  • Title VII of Dodd-Frank: The section of U.S. law that established the post-2008 framework for swaps and derivatives oversight.