CME Group will start providing 24/7 buying and selling for its regulated cryptocurrency futures and choices on Might 29, pending regulatory evaluate, increasing entry to its digital asset derivatives suite as demand from institutional members grows.
The world’s largest derivatives market stated steady buying and selling will begin Friday, Might 29 at 4:00 p.m. Central Time on its CME Globex platform.
The transfer is designed to present shoppers round the clock entry to hedging and buying and selling instruments tied to bitcoin and different digital belongings, aligning futures markets extra carefully with the nonstop nature of spot cryptocurrency buying and selling.
Tim McCourt, CME Group’s world head of equities, overseas trade, and various merchandise, stated buyer demand for threat administration within the digital asset sector has reached new highs.
“Shopper demand for threat administration within the digital asset market is at an all-time excessive, driving a file $3 trillion in notional quantity throughout our Cryptocurrency futures and choices in 2025,” McCourt stated in an announcement.
CME stated the shift displays the rising position of regulated derivatives in crypto market construction, notably for skilled buyers in search of publicity with clearing and oversight protections. In contrast to offshore venues, CME’s crypto contracts function inside the U.S. regulatory framework, providing standardized settlement and reporting.
Below the brand new schedule, CME cryptocurrency futures and choices will commerce constantly with not less than a two-hour weekly upkeep interval over the weekend.
The trade stated vacation and weekend buying and selling from Friday night by means of Sunday night will carry the commerce date of the next enterprise day. Clearing, settlement, and regulatory reporting can be processed the subsequent enterprise day as properly.
The change comes as CME’s cryptocurrency advanced continues to put up file exercise. The trade reported year-to-date common each day quantity of 407,200 contracts in 2026, representing a 46% improve from the identical interval final yr. Common each day open curiosity reached 335,400 contracts, up 7% yr over yr.
Futures buying and selling has pushed a lot of the expansion. CME stated futures common each day quantity stands at 403,900 contracts yr up to now, up 47% in contrast with final yr’s ranges.
Conventional markets are accepting crypto infrastructure
The transfer towards a 24/7 schedule follows a broader development in market infrastructure adapting to digital asset buying and selling patterns. Crypto markets function with out conventional closing hours, and institutional merchants have sought merchandise that match the fixed availability of underlying spot markets.
CME stated not all markets lend themselves to nonstop buying and selling, however cryptocurrency merchandise signify a class the place steady entry helps threat administration wants. The trade framed the change as a approach to make sure shoppers can handle publicity at any time, notably during times of heightened volatility.
CME Group operates exchanges throughout main asset lessons together with rates of interest, fairness indexes, overseas trade, power, agriculture, and metals. Its platforms embody CME Globex for futures and choices buying and selling, BrokerTec for fastened earnings, and EBS for overseas trade.
The corporate additionally runs CME Clearing, one of many world’s largest central counterparty clearing suppliers, which performs a job in decreasing counterparty threat in derivatives markets.
The Might 29 launch date stays topic to regulatory evaluate. If authorized, the expanded schedule will mark a shift in how U.S.-regulated crypto derivatives are traded, bringing futures and choices markets nearer to the continual rhythm of world cryptocurrency buying and selling.
