CME starts 24/7 Bitcoin futures; $67K gap remains

CME Group began 24-hour, seven-day trading for its Bitcoin futures on Friday, removing the weekend trading pause that created so-called CME futures gaps.

The expansion, announced in February, responds to client demand. Tim McCourt, CME’s global head of equities, FX and alternative products, noted in a press release: “Client demand for risk management in the digital asset market is at an all-time high, driving a record $3 trillion in notional volume across our Cryptocurrency futures and options in 2025.”

Under the new schedule, futures will no longer close for the weekend and then reopen at a different price, a sequence that left blank zones on hourly and four-hour charts.

Those blank zones, known as CME gaps, formed when the futures market paused over the weekend and resumed at a different price. Traders have often monitored those gaps because Bitcoin has historically moved back into the gap range; fills have taken days, weeks or months.

Trader Daan Crypto Trades posted on X that three nearby CME gaps remain on charts, both above and below the current market price, and that the lowest unfilled gap lies just above $67,000 and dates to early April.

Observers tracking large accounts on Bitfinex reported changes in whale positions. Trader CW posted on X that “Bitfinex whales’ short positions in $BTC are shrinking further. Their short-term bearish bets are decreasing,” and noted that some position adjustments continued. Separate Bitfinex research identified missing elements needed for a sustained bullish reversal.

Existing gaps will remain on historical charts until price action fills them. The 24/7 futures schedule aligns futures trading with the continuous nature of spot cryptocurrency markets and removes the weekly open-to-close discrepancies that produced weekend gaps.