CME Group is flipping the switch to round-the-clock trading for its crypto futures products, including XRP, starting May 29 at 4:00 p.m. CT. The move effectively kills the last remaining gap between traditional derivatives markets and the never-sleeping world of digital assets.
Think of it this way: crypto markets have always been a 24/7 operation, but the biggest regulated derivatives exchange on the planet was still taking weekends off. That mismatch created blind spots for institutional traders who couldn’t hedge or adjust positions when weekend volatility hit. Now that gap closes entirely.
What’s actually changing
The 24/7 trading expansion doesn’t just cover XRP. It applies across CME’s full digital asset futures and options lineup, including Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, and a growing roster of altcoin contracts covering ADA, LINK, XLM, SUI, and AVAX.
For XRP specifically, CME will offer continuous trading on both its standard XRP futures and Micro XRP contracts. The CFTC self-certification for the program was filed on May 13, confirming the launch date and including a market-maker program that extends through January 31, 2027.
