Cboe, Citadel Group Sues CFTC to Block Stock Perpetual Futures

By Nodora News · 4 November 2026

A Cboe and Citadel-backed group has sued the CFTC to overturn its approval of stock perpetual futures, arguing the products are swaps for the SEC.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) was taken to court on the same day it approved stock perpetual futures. On Tuesday, November 3, 2026, a new industry group called the Capital Markets Alliance, whose members include Cboe Global Markets and Citadel Securities, sued the regulator in federal court in New York to overturn the decision. The case matters to crypto because perps are the signature product of exchanges like Hyperliquid (HYPE), and the outcome could shape how far crypto-style trading spreads into US markets.

Key takeaways

• The Capital Markets Alliance (CMA) filed suit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on November 3.
• Its members include Cboe Global Markets, Citadel Securities and the Healthy Markets Association.
• The group argues single-stock perps are security-based swaps, which only the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can oversee.
• It wants the approvals thrown out and blocked while the case runs.
• A CFTC spokesperson called the lawsuit a troubling attempt to interfere with regulated markets, Reuters reported.
• Crypto prices were steady, with Bitcoin (BTC) and Hyperliquid (HYPE) both up a little over 1% in 24 hours.

What happened: a lawsuit hours after the stock perps approval

Earlier on Tuesday, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said perpetual futures tied to individual US stocks could trade on qualifying regulated exchanges. The contracts were treated as approved security futures, a category created by the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 that the CFTC and SEC oversee together. We covered that decision in CFTC Approves Stock Perpetual Futures in the US for the First Time.

A perpetual future, or perp, is a leveraged bet on an asset's price that never expires. A recurring payment between buyers and sellers, called the funding rate, keeps its price close to the real asset.

Before the ink was dry, the Capital Markets Alliance filed its complaint. According to CoinDesk, the group has little public history and the lawsuit appears to be its first major action. A spokesperson told CoinDesk that its members include Cboe, Citadel Securities and the Healthy Markets Association, an investor advocacy group.

What the Capital Markets Alliance is asking the court to do

The group's case rests on the Administrative Procedure Act, the US law that sets out how federal agencies must make and explain decisions. According to its statement, the CMA argues that:

• The products are security-based swaps. Because perps never expire, the group says they work like swaps, and Congress gave the SEC exclusive control over swaps tied to securities.
• The CFTC gave no explanation. The complaint says the agency did not explain its decision or acknowledge that it has long treated perpetual derivatives as swaps.
• Investor impact was ignored. The group says the CFTC did not properly weigh the effects on investors and on securities markets.

The CMA is asking the court to cancel the approvals, declare that the products are security-based swaps, and stop the CFTC from giving the approvals any effect while the case is decided.

Adam Ford, the group's secretary, said the hasty rollout of products that get around long-standing rules weakens investor protection and the resilience of the financial system. Cboe chief executive Craig Donohue said in a separate statement that Cboe could list these products on its own CFTC-regulated platforms if this were just a business issue, but that it sees the fight as one about investor protection and the rule of law.

Why Wall Street is fighting crypto-style perpetual futures

Perps grew up on crypto exchanges and have moved onchain through platforms like Hyperliquid, where markets run around the clock. Bringing them to US stocks would put them in direct competition with the options and equity venues that firms like Cboe and Citadel Securities dominate.

The objection is not only from the plaintiffs. The American Securities Association also criticised the decision on Tuesday. Its chief executive, Chris Iacovella, said that by labelling stock perps as security futures, the CFTC sidestepped the SEC and Congress's ban on selling security-based swaps to retail investors, according to CoinDesk.

This is the second legal fight over the CFTC's perps push. In June, CME Group sued over the agency's approval of crypto perpetual futures offered by Kalshi and Coinbase, making a similar argument that contracts with no end date are really swaps rather than futures.

Crypto market reaction

Prices barely moved on the news. As of about 10:50 AM AEDT on November 4 (OKX data):

• Bitcoin (BTC): about $77,730, up roughly 1.2% in 24 hours
• Ethereum (ETH): about $2,284, up roughly 1.4%
• Hyperliquid (HYPE): about $85.41, up roughly 1.5%

For now, the lawsuit does not touch crypto perps already trading offshore or onchain. The bigger question is whether US regulators can keep widening the perp format at home, which would affect how quickly a regulated, onshore version of what Hyperliquid offers can grow.

What to watch next for the CFTC stock perps lawsuit

• A ruling on interim relief. The CMA wants the approvals frozen while the case runs. Whether the court agrees is the first test.
• The CFTC's formal response. Beyond its spokesperson's comment, watch for the agency's legal defence of the security futures route.
• The SEC's position. The SEC shares oversight of security futures, so its stance could weigh heavily on the case.
• The CME case. Any decision in CME Group's challenge to crypto perps could hint at how courts view perpetual contracts more broadly.
• Exchange listings. No venues have yet named launch stocks. Listings that go ahead despite the lawsuit would raise the stakes.

Want to understand how perps, leverage and shorting work before touching real money? Nodora's Paper Trading League lets you practise with no money at risk, and you can follow live prices on the Nodora charts page.

This article is for information only and is not financial advice.

#Hyperliquid #CFTC #Perpetual Futures #Regulation #Lawsuit

This article is general information, not financial advice.