CME Group has started 24/7 trading for bitcoin and ethereum futures and options. This means traders can now buy and sell these products at almost any time, including weekends. The change officially begins today, May 29.

For many years, CME’s digital asset futures market closed every Friday and reopened on Sunday evening, but bitcoin itself never stops trading. Because of this difference, bitcoin’s price often moved during the weekend while the CME was closed.

When CME reopened, futures prices sometimes opened much higher or lower than Friday’s closing price. This created a blank space on trading charts called the “CME gap.”

Over time, these gaps became very popular among bitcoin traders. Many traders believed bitcoin’s price would later return to these gap levels. This idea became known as the “gap fill” strategy.

The CME gap was no longer viewed as just a technical chart pattern. It evolved into a widely followed trading strategy, a market meme, and, for many retail investors, something they strongly believed in.

Some reports showed that around 77% of CME gaps were eventually filled. Smaller gaps often closed quickly, while larger gaps sometimes stayed open for months or never closed at all.

Now, CME’s move to nonstop trading is expected to mostly end the creation of new weekend gaps. Since futures trading will continue during weekends, prices can adjust in real time instead of waiting for Sunday reopening.

Many analysts see this as an important step for the bitcoin market. It brings regulated bitcoin futures trading closer to how the market already works; continuously and without closing.

“Client demand for risk management in the digital asset market is at an all-time high,” said Tim McCourt of CME Group. He said CME handled nearly $3 trillion in digital asset futures and options trading volume in 2025.

The change is especially important for large investors and institutions. Before this update, hedge funds and other professional traders could not fully manage bitcoin risk through CME during weekends. Now they can react to market moves immediately.

The update may also reduce the sudden price swings that often happened when CME reopened on Sunday nights. In the past, futures prices had to quickly catch up with weekend bitcoin price movements.

However, experts say weekends could still experience volatility because trading activity is usually lower outside normal business hours.

CME also explained that some parts of the system still follow a normal business-week schedule. Weekend trades will still be processed and officially settled on the next business day.

This means trading is now continuous, but some back-office operations still work on a Monday-to-Friday timetable.

It also highlights the limitations of this transition. Even though regulated digital asset markets operate around the clock like the broader industry, they still rely on traditional financial systems that process transactions and reporting according to standard business hours.