In the world of cryptocurrency, the market never sleeps. However, for institutional investors seeking to manage risks within a compliance framework, a long-standing pain point—the “CME Gap,” acts like a pause button on the clock, reminding us of the rhythm difference between traditional finance and the digital asset world every weekend. Now, this historical “trading window” is about to be completely ended. The world's largest derivatives exchange, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group), has officially announced plans to launch its cryptocurrency futures and options products for 24/7 trading starting in early 2026. This is not only a respect and embrace of the native characteristics of the crypto market but is also seen as a landmark milestone for the traditional financial system moving towards the era of the “city that never sleeps.”
Goodbye to 'trading gaps'
According to an announcement by the CME Group in October 2025, this transformation will allow its clients to trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) futures and options contracts continuously through the CME Globex electronic trading platform, seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, with only a brief system maintenance window retained each week.
The core driving force behind this initiative stems from the growing demand among market participants for around-the-clock risk management tools. Tim McCourt, CME Group's global head of equities, foreign exchange, and alternative products, precisely pointed out in a statement: 'Not all markets are suitable for 24/7 operation, but as market participants need to manage risk every day, the demand for around-the-clock cryptocurrency trading continues to grow. Ensuring our regulated cryptocurrency market is always available allows customers to trade confidently at any time.'
It is worth noting that in order to maintain consistency and stability in back-end clearing and reporting processes, trades executed on weekends and public holidays will still be settled on the next business day. This design cleverly balances the flexibility of front-end trading with the rigor of back-end financial infrastructure, paving the way for seamless connections for institutional funds.
For cryptocurrency traders, the most direct significance of CME's move is the complete disappearance of the 'CME Gap.' The so-called 'CME Gap' refers to the price jumps that occur at Monday's opening due to the CME cryptocurrency futures market closing after traditional trading hours (Monday to Friday), while the spot cryptocurrency market continues to trade globally 24/7. This gap is both an arbitrage opportunity and a nightmare for risk managers, increasing market uncertainty and forcing many traders to turn to regulatory-ambiguous offshore platforms for hedging over the weekend.
The launch of a 24/7 trading model will enable CME's derivatives prices to reflect the price fluctuations of underlying assets (such as Bitcoin and Ethereum) more instantaneously and continuously, thus:
Enhancing price discovery efficiency: Continuous quoting will form a smoother price curve, eliminating gaps caused by market closures, allowing market prices to more accurately reflect the comprehensive expectations of global investors.
Reducing gap risk: Institutional investors will no longer need to bear the risk of unclosed positions over the weekend; their hedging and trading strategies can be adjusted at any time based on market dynamics, greatly enhancing capital efficiency and risk control capabilities.
Consolidating compliance market position: By providing a trading experience synchronized with the native cryptocurrency market, CME is expected to attract more institutional funds that previously flowed to overseas platforms due to trading time restrictions back to the U.S. This will not only enhance its market liquidity but also further solidify its leadership position as a core platform for global institutional cryptocurrency derivatives trading.
Cryptocurrency as the vanguard
CME's decision carries significance far beyond the cryptocurrency field itself. It is widely interpreted as a positive challenge to the traditional '9 to 5' work model in finance, with cryptocurrency being the vanguard and best testing ground for this transformation.
At the same time that CME announced this plan, its chairman and CEO Terry Duffy pointed out at a joint roundtable meeting with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): 'I believe this (24/7 trading) is the world we are going to live in, and the market itself will demand it. Cryptocurrency is the best way to move in that direction.'
This view has been echoed by other financial giants. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) CEO Jeff Sprecher emphasized that the market itself has the ability to determine which products are suitable for year-round operation. Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman also revealed that they are preparing to achieve '24/5' trading (five days a week, twenty-four hours a day) for stocks. Don Wilson, founder of high-frequency trading giant DRW, pointed out the deeper logic of achieving true 24/7 trading: it requires collateral that is liquid around the clock, and asset tokenization is key to solving this issue.
From this perspective, CME's actions not only respond to customer demand but also actively outline the blueprint for the future financial market. Once cryptocurrency derivatives successfully achieve around-the-clock trading, their experiences and models are likely to be replicated across broader asset classes such as foreign exchange, stock indices, and even commodities, ultimately driving the global financial system into a new era of seamless connectivity and perpetual engagement.
Opportunities and challenges coexist
Of course, the realization of this grand blueprint is not achieved overnight. According to U.S. regulations, changes to CME's operating model still require final approval from the CFTC. A potential variable is that the current budget dispute in Washington may lead to a government shutdown, which could result in a reduction of CFTC staff, thereby delaying the review process. Nevertheless, given the strong market demand and industry consensus for the plan, the industry generally believes that as long as the government shutdown does not last long-term, CME still has a high probability of completing all regulatory procedures as scheduled in early 2026.
While waiting for regulatory green lights, CME's cryptocurrency product business is growing at an unprecedented speed, laying a solid market foundation for its implementation of 24/7 trading. Official data shows that in the third quarter of 2025, the average daily trading volume of CME cryptocurrency derivatives reached a record 340,000 contracts, with a nominal value of approximately $14.1 billion. According to current data, CME ranks first globally in the scale of open contracts for Bitcoin and Ethereum futures, reaching about $16.8 billion and $9.8 billion, respectively. Additionally, the exchange announced that it will launch options products based on Solana and XRP futures on October 16, continuously expanding its cryptocurrency product matrix.
In summary, the around-the-clock cryptocurrency derivatives trading promoted by the CME Group is not only a proactive response to market demand but also a milestone event in the deep integration of traditional finance and digital assets. It will completely put an end to the 'CME Gap' that has troubled traders for years, providing institutional investors with an unprecedented, powerful tool for around-the-clock risk management within a compliance framework. When the clock no longer restricts the fluctuations of quotes, a truly global, never-sleeping financial new era led by cryptocurrency is already clearly visible.
