Case: 25-7187, 02/17/2026, DktEntry: 37.2, Page 14 of 41
contracts” and “swaps.” While derivatives markets are distinct from “cash” or “physical” markets in which the assets themselves are bought and sold, the prices of those assets and derivatives are typically closely linked. If a price disparity arises, arbitrageurs will take advantage of the difference, and the gap disappears. In the ordinary course, these price movements contribute to “price discovery,” the mechanism by which supply and demand set the price of a commodity. A futures contract is a standardized agreement to purchase or sell a “commodity” at a future date for a price determined at the contract’s inception. Although the CEA uses the term of art “contract[] of sale of a commodity for future delivery,” most contracts are structured for financial settlement and are discharged by executing a contract that reverses the obligation to purchase or sell. See, e.g. , 7 U.S.C. § 2(a)(1)(A). Under the CEA, a futures contract must be traded on a DCM, the statutory term for a registered derivatives exchange. 7 U.S.C. § 6(a). A swap includes a broad array of financial instruments, such as “event contracts.” Swap transactions are also traded on CFTC-registered DCMs. Futures markets originated in the United States at transportation hubs for agricultural products like grain, butter, and eggs. Over time, exchanges began to offer contracts for other physical commodities like metals, oil, and gas, and later introduced cash-settled futures linked to less tangible measures like interest rates and price indices. While the range of underlying commodities has expanded (and
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