The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group has officially moved its Bitcoin futures and options into around-the-clock trading, a move that will eliminate the widely watched “CME gap” that became a staple of weekend Bitcoin price analysis.
Starting on Friday, May 29, 2026, CME’s Bitcoin futures and options will trade continuously on the Globex electronic platform. The only interruption will be a 60-minute maintenance window every Sunday from 18:00 to 19:00 UTC+8, along with a brief two-minute daily pause on weekdays and a two-hour weekend maintenance period. Despite the near‑24/7 schedule, weekend and holiday trades will carry the next business day’s trade date for clearing and settlement purposes.
The launch ends the exchange’s traditional weekend closure that created the price gaps between Friday’s close and Sunday’s reopen. These gaps often served as technical signals, with many traders expecting Bitcoin to eventually revisit the “gap” level. With the new schedule, new weekend gaps are expected to disappear, though three older gaps remain open near $80,000, $78,500, and below $70,000.
CME’s decision follows surging client demand for digital asset risk management. The exchange reported that its crypto futures and options reached $3 trillion in notional volume in 2025. By aligning its trading hours with the nonstop crypto spot market, CME offers institutional traders a regulated venue to hedge Bitcoin exposure during weekends and holidays, potentially reducing the need to wait for reopenings after major news.
