La SEC y la CFTC piden al público que intervenga en los swaps a medida que se intensifica la lucha perpetua por los futuros

The US derivatives debate just moved into a much more important phase. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have opened a joint request for public comment on whether existing derivatives definitions still fit the products now coming to market. The request focuses on areas including swaps, security-based swaps, mixed swaps, novel products, emerging products, and alternative compliance. That sounds technical, but the timing matters. The request arrived as the market is also watching a legal fight over perpetual futures, including whether products approved for event-contract platforms should be treated as futures or swaps under the Dodd-Frank framework. For crypto traders, the core issue is simple: the label regulators choose can determine who gets to offer a product, what safeguards apply, and how much access retail and institutional users have. TL;DR The SEC and CFTC issued a joint request for comment on derivatives product definitions. The agencies are asking about swaps, security-based swaps, mixed swaps, novel products, and alternative compliance. The comment window remains open for 60 days after Federal Register publication. The move comes as CME has challenged the CFTC’s approval of perpetual futures-style products for event-contract platforms. Why The Definitions Matter For Crypto Crypto markets have always borrowed heavily from derivatives. Perpetual futures, funding rates, collateralized positions, and synthetic exposure are central to trading activity offshore. The US market, by contrast, has been slower and more fragmented because regulatory categories decide what venues can list, clear, and supervise each product. The SEC and CFTC said their request is part of a wider effort to evaluate whether current jurisdictional frameworks reflect evolving market structures and trading practices. That phrasing is important because it does not name crypto as the only issue. Instead, the agencies are looking at the broader architecture around products that may not fit neatly into old definitions. Still, crypto is clearly one of the markets most exposed to the outcome. If a perpetual contract is treated as a swap, it may face a different rulebook from a futures contract. That can change clearing obligations, venue rules, reporting requirements, and the practical economics of offering the product in the US. CME Lawsuit Adds Pressure The policy discussion is not happening in a vacuum. CME Group has filed a lawsuit challenging the CFTC’s approval of perpetual futures contracts for event-contract platforms, including Kalshi and Coinbase. According to the legal context reviewed for this article, CME argues that contracts without an expiration date and with periodic funding mechanics should be viewed as swaps rather than ordinary futures. That argument goes straight to the commercial heart of the market. Established derivatives venues do not want new entrants offering economically similar products under a light