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CME Goes 24/7 with Crypto Derivatives Starting May 29
Effective May 29, CME will transition its crypto futures and options to continuous trading, aside from a short weekly maintenance period, pending regulatory review. The change eliminates the prior trading halt that ran from Friday afternoon through Sunday evening under the 23-hour weekday schedule.
“CME Group Cryptocurrency futures and options will trade continuously on CME Globex with at least a two-hour weekly maintenance period over the weekend,” according to an announcement by the parent of The Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
CME Group stated that trades executed on market holidays and weekends will be cleared, settled, and recorded on the next business day, maintaining consistency in reporting and clearing operations. Regulatory disclosures for those sessions will likewise be submitted on the following working day.
“While not all markets lend themselves to operating 24/7, providing always-on access to our regulated, transparent cryptocurrency products ensures clients can manage their exposure and trade with confidence at any time,” Tim McCourt, CME’s global head of equities, FX, and alternative products, said in a statement.
 
The CME Group serves as a major hub for U.S. institutional participation in cryptocurrency derivatives trading. The exchange currently ranks as the global leader in Bitcoin and Ether futures by open interest, holding approximately $8.16 billion and $3.39 billion in notional contract value, respectively, according to data from CoinGlass.
As part of its ongoing digital asset expansion, the exchange has rolled out new products tied to Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar, signaling a wider push to capture the growing crypto derivatives market.
CME’s 24/7 access, if approved, could position it ahead of offshore platforms, which offer round-the-clock trading but operate under lighter regulatory scrutiny.
The move comes as U.S. regulators support a potential shift to 24/7 capital markets in the U.S.
Speaking at the Trump family’s World Liberty Forum at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Mike Selig noted that while 24/7 trading may not suit some agricultural commodities such as wheat and corn, it is well-suited for cryptocurrency markets.