What is happening in court
The fight centers on a lawsuit brought by the Capital Markets Alliance against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The group is challenging the regulator’s approval of single-stock perpetual futures.
A perpetual future is a futures contract with no expiration date. Traders can hold a position on an asset’s price indefinitely, rather than rolling it over each time a contract runs out.
On November 2, 2026, the CFTC approved applications from Coinbase Derivatives, Kalshi, and Bitnomial to offer these single-stock products. That approval is what the Capital Markets Alliance is now contesting.
On November 10, 2026, Coinbase filed an amicus brief backing the CFTC’s regulatory authority. It was joined by prediction market Kalshi and Payward, the parent company of Kraken.
An amicus brief is essentially a formal note from an interested outsider. The filer isn’t a direct party to the case, but it wants the judge to hear its view before ruling.
Judge Valerie Caproni has already denied a temporary restraining order against the perpetual futures. A restraining order would have put the products on hold while the case plays out, so the denial keeps the approvals standing for now.
From BitMEX experiment to federal docket
Hayes has reason to take the moment personally. BitMEX introduced perpetual swaps in May 2016, and the product has since become a familiar fixture of crypto trading.
Coinbase officials have framed the issue around access. They argue US investors should be able to use derivatives products that are already available to traders in other parts of the world.
Who has skin in the game
The coalition behind the CFTC is notable on its own. Coinbase, Kalshi, and Payward represent a crypto exchange, a prediction market, and the corporate parent of another major exchange.
Bitnomial, the third approved applicant alongside Coinbase Derivatives and Kalshi, also has a direct stake. If the approvals survive, all three would be positioned to offer a product that US stock traders haven’t had in this form.
On the other side, the Capital Markets Alliance is challenging whether these instruments should have been approved at all. The case effectively asks a federal judge to referee where the line sits between crypto-style derivatives and traditional equity markets.
What this means for traders and the industry
The most immediate question is jurisdiction. If the court affirms the CFTC’s authority to approve single-stock perpetual futures, it would set a template for other firms looking to launch similar products.
Judge Caproni’s refusal to grant a temporary restraining order means the approvals remain in place, though that is not a ruling on the merits of the case.
For investors watching Coinbase specifically, the case touches on a long-running strategic theme. The company has been pushing to expand beyond spot crypto trading into derivatives, and a court victory would strengthen that pitch.