Coinbase, Kalshi and Four More Firms Back CFTC in Court Fight Over Single-Stock Perpetuals

Published November 10, 2026, 1:45 PM PKT. Based on the November 9, 2026 court filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and reporting from The Block, crypto.news and The Crypto Times.

Six major crypto and trading firms asked a federal court on November 9, 2026 to accept a 36-page brief backing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's authority over single-stock perpetual futures, escalating the legal fight over whether the products belong under the regulator's watch or the Securities and Exchange Commission's. Coinbase, Kalshi, Kraken parent Payward, DRW Holdings, Jump Trading and Paradigm Operations filed the proposed amicus brief in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, in the case Capital Markets Alliance Association v. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, No. 1:26-cv-09608-LGS.

The filing answers a lawsuit by the Capital Markets Alliance, an industry association whose members include Cboe and Citadel Securities, seeking to overturn the CFTC's approval of equity perpetuals. The six firms asked the court to reject the association's request for a preliminary injunction, which would leave the approvals in place while the underlying dispute over regulatory classification continues. The Securities and Exchange Commission also moved on November 9 to file its own brief in the case, according to The Crypto Times.

What the six firms told the court

The brief argues that equity perpetuals are security futures under the Commodity Exchange Act, the statute that governs futures markets, and that the missing expiration date does not change that. "A security future, by definition, cannot be a swap," the firms wrote, citing the Commodity Exchange Act. A swap is a different kind of derivative that generally falls under SEC rules, and the association's whole case rests on classifying the contracts as security-based swaps instead.

The firms said the only relevant statutory question is whether equity perpetuals satisfy the definition of security futures, not whether their structure resembles other derivatives. Perpetual contracts carry the core characteristics of traditional futures, they argued, including standardized terms, margin requirements and centralized clearing. The one difference is that perpetuals have no scheduled expiration date, and funding payments between traders keep the contract's price close to the referenced stock's price instead.

The brief also pushed back on the claim that the CFTC acted alone. The SEC was "at the table from the very start," the filing said, and the two agencies jointly sought public comment on whether perpetual contracts should be classified as security futures. The exchanges submitted their listing standards to both agencies, according to the brief.

Coinbase general counsel Molly Abraham defended the filing on November 10, arguing that Congress established a framework for security futures through legislation enacted in 2000, and that under the Commodity Exchange Act, security futures products are not swaps. Coinbase vice chairman Ryan VanGrack added that global markets are already trading equity perpetuals. "U.S. investors deserve access to these markets under the strong consumer protections and joint oversight of the CFTC and SEC," VanGrack said. "The U.S. should lead, not cede, this space."

The case against the approvals

The Capital Markets Alliance filed suit on November 2, the same day the CFTC's approvals took effect, seeking to overturn the regulator's treatment of single-stock perpetual derivatives. The association argues that contracts without expiration dates should qualify as security-based swaps under SEC jurisdiction, and that the CFTC exceeded its authority by allowing the contracts to proceed as security futures. The complaint also claims the regulator failed to explain its decision adequately or consider the potential consequences for securities markets.

Adam Ford, the association's secretary, said the introduction of products outside established regulatory requirements could weaken investor protections and market oversight. The plaintiff asked the court to vacate the challenged approvals and prevent the CFTC from giving them effect while litigation continues.

The dispute matters beyond the six firms because it decides which regulator polices a new class of products that lets traders take leveraged positions on individual United States stocks around the clock. If the court sides with the association, equity perpetuals would fall under SEC rules for security-based swaps, a framework with different registration, margin and clearing requirements. If the CFTC's reading stands, the products trade on CFTC-registered exchanges under joint CFTC and SEC oversight for security futures.

A judge already questioned the classification

The six-firm brief landed one week after the first court ruling in the case, and that ruling cut both ways. On November 3, United States District Judge Valerie Caproni denied the association's request for a temporary restraining order, finding it had not demonstrated sufficiently immediate harm to justify emergency intervention. Trading in the products continued.

But the judge's preliminary assessment favored the plaintiff's interpretation of the law. Caproni questioned whether perpetual derivatives satisfied the statutory definition of security futures because they do not provide for delivery of a security on a specified future date. She found that the products appeared instead to meet the definition of security-based swaps, which generally fall under SEC regulation. The court left the approvals in place and directed the parties to continue briefing the separate preliminary injunction request.

The CFTC's opposition to that request was due November 6, while the association's response was scheduled for November 10, according to crypto.news, subject to changes by the assigned judge. The six firms' brief supports the CFTC's opposition, and the SEC's own filing adds a third voice to a case that now has the two federal market regulators on opposite sides of the docket in different ways, with the SEC weighing in separately while the CFTC defends its approvals.

How equity perps reached the market

The products at the center of the fight moved fast. Coinbase Derivatives, KalshiEX and Bitnomial Exchange submitted applications on September 18 to list perpetual contracts tied to individual large-cap United States stocks, and the applications were deemed approved on November 2 under the regulator's product review process, when the CFTC did not act within the applicable review period. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said on November 3 that perpetual futures tied to individual equity securities could begin trading on qualifying CFTC-registered exchanges that are also notice-registered with the SEC as national securities exchanges.

Kalshi launched its single-stock perpetuals on November 5, initially offering exposure to more than 50 major United States-listed companies, according to The Crypto Times. Coinbase had already submitted SEC registrations in September covering its derivatives exchange and brokerage operations, and Payward, which owns Kraken, acquired Bitnomial earlier this year. DRW, Jump Trading and Paradigm identified themselves in the filing as market participants with existing or potential interests in equity perpetual trading.

The CFTC had already approved KalshiEX's Bitcoin ($BTC) perpetual futures contract in May 2026, and the firms' brief notes that perpetuals build on dated futures by removing their expiration date. A perpetual contract lets traders speculate on an asset's price without holding the underlying asset, and unlike a traditional futures contract, it never expires. Funding payments help maintain the contract's relationship with the referenced stock price, while traders can close positions without waiting for a contract to mature.

What happens next

Three checkpoints decide the near-term fate of equity perpetuals. First, the preliminary injunction briefing now underway, with the association's response due November 10 and the court yet to rule on whether the approvals stay in force during the case. Second, the SEC's own amicus filing, which will show how the securities regulator frames a product the CFTC says belongs under joint oversight. Third, the 60-day window in which the SEC may abrogate the approvals, a clock that started when the products were deemed approved on November 2.

The products keep trading while the case proceeds, since the November 3 order denied emergency relief and left the approvals in place. The next disclosure to watch is the court's decision on the preliminary injunction, which will say whether the approvals survive the first full test of the CFTC's reading, and any filing that names which exchanges are actually trading the contracts and at what volume.

Sources

• Brief for Amici Curiae Coinbase, Inc., Kalshi Inc., Payward, Inc., DRW Holdings, LLC, Jump Trading, LLC, and Paradigm Operations LP, in Capital Markets Alliance Association v. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, No. 1:26-cv-09608-LGS (S.D.N.Y.), Document 47-1, filed November 9, 2026, 47-1_Coinbase_et_al._Amicus_Brief.pdf (primary source: 36-page brief; six firms in support of the CFTC's opposition to the preliminary injunction; "A security future, by definition, cannot be a swap"; the SEC was "at the table from the very start"; agencies jointly sought public comment on classification; exchanges submitted listing standards to both agencies; asks the court to reject the preliminary injunction)
• The Block, Coinbase, Kalshi and Payward backs CFTC in lawsuit over single-stock perp futures, published November 10, 2026 (secondary reporting: Monday court filing by Coinbase, Kalshi, Payward, DRW Holdings, Jump Trading and Paradigm; Capital Markets Alliance members include Cboe and Citadel Securities; applications deemed approved on November 2; Molly Abraham and Ryan VanGrack quotes, including "The U.S. should lead, not cede, this space")
• crypto.news, Coinbase, Kalshi, Kraken parent back CFTC in stock perps lawsuit, published November 10, 2026 (secondary reporting: case No. 1:26-cv-09608-LGS; applications filed September 18 and deemed approved November 2; Payward owns Kraken and acquired Bitnomial earlier this year; DRW, Jump Trading and Paradigm as market participants; Judge Valerie Caproni denied the temporary restraining order on November 3 while questioning the classification; CFTC opposition due November 6, association response scheduled November 10; Adam Ford quote on investor protections)
• The Crypto Times, Coinbase, Kalshi, Payward Lead 6-Firm Amicus Backing CFTC on Equity Perps, published November 10, 2026 (secondary reporting: 36-page brief; SEC moved on November 9 to file its own amicus brief; Kalshi launched single-stock perpetuals on November 5 with exposure to more than 50 major United States-listed companies; CFTC approved KalshiEX Bitcoin perpetuals in May 2026; CFTC Chairman Michael Selig statement on November 3)

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.