CME’s introduction of round-the-clock cryptocurrency trading could signal the end of Bitcoin’s weekend decline.

Analysts noted that the major derivatives exchange’s transition to continuous crypto trading will significantly influence liquidity and volatility during weekends.

CME Group headquarters (CoinDesk Archives)

Key Points:

• CME will initiate 24/7 trading for cryptocurrency futures and options as of May 29.
• This decision stems from demand, with CME reporting $3 trillion in volume across crypto offerings last year, as stated by CME’s global head Tim McCourt.
• Experts indicated that this change may lessen extreme weekend volatility and bridge the CME price gap.
• One analyst highlighted that Bitcoin might serve as a gauge for global risk events during weekends.

CME Group, a leading derivatives exchange preferred by Wall Street, announced it will commence 24/7 trading for its cryptocurrency futures and options on May 29, marking a significant advancement in how traditional institutions engage with crypto markets.

The initiative, the exchange noted, is designed to satisfy the increasing demand from professional investors who wish to manage risk at all times, including during weekends, when cryptocurrency volatility frequently rises due to the closure of institutional platforms.

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The decision to operate continuously was motivated by growth, according to Tim McCourt, CME’s global head of equities and FX, who mentioned that crypto derivatives across CME platforms achieved a record $3 trillion in notional volume last year.

"Demand from clients for risk management in the digital asset sector is at an unprecedented level," he noted.

‘Extreme price fluctuations’

Nonetheless, this change is expected to significantly influence how cryptocurrencies are traded on weekends.

Although crypto markets have always been operational continuously, CME’s derivatives—commonly utilized by hedge funds and institutions for their stringent regulatory oversight—typically close on Friday evening and reopen on Sunday, while the spot market remains available 24/7.

This inconsistency contributes to the known "CME gaps," the vacant price zones between Friday’s close and Sunday’s opening, leaving institutions vulnerable to weekend price fluctuations without the means to hedge.

Professionals assert that CME’s transition to round-the-clock trading may transform liquidity and trading behaviors in both institutional and retail crypto markets, particularly on weekends.

"The most extreme price fluctuations occur precisely when institutional venues are inactive," stated Bobby Ong, co-founder of CoinGecko. "CME’s transition is a structural acknowledgment of what CoinGecko data has revealed for years."

He remarked that liquidation cascades during weekends were a "predictable outcome" of limited, fragmented liquidity, emphasizing that "CME [is] finally bridging that gap."

Reduced volatility

This change will essentially facilitate smoother trading between weekdays and weekends.

Adam Haeems, head of asset management at Tesseract Group, noted that the adjustment "closes one of the final structural gaps between crypto-native markets and regulated derivatives infrastructure."

Institutional trading that halts on Friday and resumes on Sunday will proceed without interruption, minimizing the risk and expenses of maintaining positions over weekends. He added that weekend volatility has been "a direct result of this structural discrepancy," and continuous trading should aid in reducing those price fluctuations and narrowing spreads.

However, this does not ensure a complete elimination of significant price swings; rather, price movements will likely become more gradual.

Haeems cautioned that merely keeping the venue open does not guarantee deep liquidity. "Institutional desks may not engage in weekend risk-taking with the same intensity as during weekdays," he stated. "The enhancement will be tangible but gradual."

For retail traders, this change may result in less severe price movements on Mondays.

"Tighter pricing and fewer of those abrupt Monday-morning price gaps," remarked Haeems. "The CME gap has historically been closed more than 90% of the time—retail traders who monitor futures structures will observe that signal diminishing."

Bitcoin as a macro risk indicator

Maxime Seiler, CEO of trading firm STS Digital, echoed that the shift provides clear advantages to institutions, particularly those cautious of forced liquidation mechanisms on crypto-native platforms.

"The ability to trade futures and options on CME without the risk of auto-deleveraging is a significant advantage,” he stated.

He also highlighted a possible change in the role of bitcoin over weekends, suggesting it may increasingly be utilized as a professional tool to hedge against global risk events when other assets are unavailable for trading.

"With other markets closed, bitcoin could increasingly act as a proxy for wider macro risk, reflecting global events in real time."