CME Group to Launch 24/7 Crypto Derivatives Trading
CME Group, a leading derivatives marketplace, announced it will offer its regulated cryptocurrency futures and options for trading 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The new trading hours are scheduled to begin on May 29, pending regulatory review, and are intended to meet growing client demand for continuous market access.
- CME Group's extension to 24/7 trading will apply to its entire suite of cryptocurrency derivatives, which includes futures and options for Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP, Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar. This move makes it the first traditional, regulated exchange to commit to non-stop trading, aligning its operations with the continuous nature of crypto-native markets. - The decision follows a period of significant growth in CME's crypto division, which facilitated nearly $3 trillion in notional trading volume in 2025. In the fourth quarter of 2025 alone, over $13 billion in notional value was traded daily as open interest more than doubled. - Year-over-year, the average daily volume for overall cryptocurrency futures and options at CME increased by 132% in 2025, reaching 270,900 contracts, equivalent to a notional value of $12 billion. - The expansion into around-the-clock trading is a direct response to growing demand from clients who need to manage their risk exposure at all times, as stated by Tim McCourt, CME's Global Head of Equities, FX, and Alternative Products. - While trading will be continuous, clearing and settlement for trades executed on holidays or weekends will be processed on the following business day. The platform will also have a brief weekly maintenance period of at least two hours over the weekend. - CME Group first entered the cryptocurrency market by launching Bitcoin futures in 2017. It has since expanded its offerings to include micro-sized contracts and derivatives based on a variety of altcoins to meet increasing institutional and retail demand. - The exchange's Micro Bitcoin futures have become the most popular crypto derivative on a regulated exchange, with 11.7 million contracts traded in the first eight months of last year, an 88.7% increase from the prior year. - In the third quarter of 2025, CME's crypto derivatives markets saw volume exceed $900 billion, with a record average daily open interest of $31.3 billion, indicating growing institutional participation.
