CME Group, the world’s top derivatives marketplace, announced Thursday it will launch 24/7 crypto futures and options trading in late May. The move comes as some of Wall Street’s biggest players seek to similarly make stock trading nonstop. Beginning on the afternoon of May 29, all CME crypto futures and options will trade continuously, with at least a two-hour weekly maintenance break over the weekend. Previously, such products traded 23 hours a day on weekdays, with a closure gap between Friday afternoon ...

Core Insights - CME Group will launch 24/7 trading for its regulated Cryptocurrency futures and options starting May 29, pending regulatory review [1][2] - Client demand for risk management in the digital asset market has reached an all-time high, resulting in a record $3 trillion in notional volume for Cryptocurrency futures and options in 2025 [2] - The continuous trading will include a two-hour weekly maintenance period over the weekend, with holiday or weekend trades dated to the following business day [2] Company Performance - CME Group has reported an average daily volume (ADV) of 407,200 contracts, which is a 46% increase year-over-year, and an average daily open interest of 335,400 contracts, up 7% year-over-year [5] - The futures ADV specifically reached 403,900 contracts, marking a 47% increase year-over-year [5] Market Position - CME Group is recognized as the world's leading derivatives marketplace, facilitating trading across various asset classes including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, energy, agricultural products, and metals [3] - The company operates the CME Globex platform for futures and options trading, BrokerTec for fixed income trading, and EBS for foreign exchange trading, alongside being a major central counterparty clearing provider [3]

Core Viewpoint - CME Group plans to launch Single Stock futures for over 50 top U.S. stocks, enhancing trading options for market participants [1] Group 1: Product Launch - CME Group will introduce Single Stock futures contracts this summer, pending regulatory approval [1] - The new contracts will cover stocks from the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, and Russell 1000 indices, including major companies like Alphabet, Meta, NVIDIA, and Tesla [1] - These futures will offer a cost-effective way for investors to gain exposure to individual stocks without purchasing shares outright [1] Group 2: Market Demand - There has been a growing demand for equity derivatives among both institutional and retail investors [1] - In 2025, the average daily volume (ADV) for futures reached 6 million contracts, a 15% increase year-over-year, with record average open interest (OI) of 5.6 million contracts, up 19% year-over-year [1] - The overall ADV for futures and options was 7.4 million contracts, with an OI of 9.8 million contracts [1] Group 3: Company Overview - CME Group is recognized as the world's leading derivatives marketplace, facilitating trading across various asset classes [1] - The company provides a platform for futures, options, cash, and OTC markets, enabling clients to manage risk and seize opportunities [1] - CME Group operates one of the leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing [1]

CME Group CEO Terry Duffy has suggested the derivatives giant is exploring launching its own cryptocurrency. In response to a question from Morgan Stanley’s Michael Cyprys during the company’s latest earnings call, Duffy confirmed the firm is exploring “initiatives with our own coin that we could potentially put on a decentralized network.” The comment was brief and came in response to a question about the role of tokenized collateral. In response, Duffy first noted that the world’s largest derivatives ...

Core Insights - CME Group reported its highest January average daily volume (ADV) on record at 29.6 million contracts, a 15% increase year-over-year, surpassing the previous record of 25.7 million contracts set in January 2025 [1][2] Volume Highlights - January 2026 ADV across various asset classes includes: - Interest Rate ADV: 13.9 million contracts, up 18% - Equity Index ADV: 7.3 million contracts, up 4% - Energy ADV: 3.6 million contracts, up 11% - Metals ADV: 2.2 million contracts, up 218% - Agricultural ADV: 1.6 million contracts - Foreign Exchange ADV: 991,000 contracts - Cryptocurrency ADV: 408,000 contracts, representing $10.8 billion notional [4] Product Performance - Record ADV in specific products: - Micro Silver futures ADV reached 438,000 contracts - 1-Ounce Gold futures ADV reached 115,000 contracts - Micro Copper futures ADV reached 48,000 contracts - Micro Gold futures ADV increased 472% to 693,000 contracts [3][4] International and Platform Performance - International ADV increased 19% to 9.2 million contracts, with EMEA ADV up 18% to 6.7 million contracts and APAC ADV up 25% to 2.2 million contracts [4] - BrokerTec U.S. Repo average daily notional value increased 20% to $382 billion, while European Repo ADNV increased 11% to €346 billion [4]

Core Insights - Tharimmune, Inc. has appointed Jill Sommers and William Wiley to its Board of Directors to enhance governance as the company advances its Canton Network infrastructure [1][2] Group 1: Board Appointments - Jill Sommers brings nearly three decades of experience in derivatives and financial markets, having served as a Commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and held senior roles in regulatory affairs [2][3] - William Wiley has extensive capital markets experience and has led complex global operations, currently serving as Head of the Equities and Latency Sensitive Business Unit at DRW [3][4] Group 2: Strategic Vision - The company aims to modernize financial infrastructure through its digital asset treasury strategy, leveraging Canton Coin to support the Canton Network [2][4] - Tharimmune intends to invest in applications built on the Canton Network to enhance institutional utility and adoption across capital markets [4] Group 3: Company Overview - Tharimmune is the first publicly traded company to utilize Canton Coin and support the Canton Network, focusing on advancing institutional blockchain adoption and the digitization of financial markets [5]

Core Insights - CME Group's natural gas complex achieved a new single-day record of 2,576,346 contracts traded on January 20, 2026, representing a 15% increase from the previous record of 2,239,081 contracts on November 14, 2018 [1][2] Group 1: Trading Records - The trading volume for Henry Hub options reached 811,662 contracts, which is up 28% from the previous record [2] - Dutch TTF options also saw a record volume of 35,480 contracts, marking a significant increase of 202% from the previous record [2] Group 2: Market Demand - Increased demand for heating across the U.S. has led clients to engage with CME Group's natural gas markets in record numbers to manage price risk [2] - The company emphasizes its commitment to providing deep liquidity for market participants to effectively hedge their positions [2] Group 3: Company Overview - CME Group is recognized as the world's leading derivatives marketplace, facilitating trading in futures, options, cash, and OTC markets [4] - The company offers a wide range of global benchmark products across major asset classes, including energy, agricultural products, and metals [4]

Core Viewpoint - CME Group is set to launch futures contracts for Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Stellar (XLM), pending regulatory approval, which will enhance institutional access to these altcoins [1][5]. Group 1: Product Details - The new futures contracts will be available in both standard and micro contract sizes, catering to institutional clients and retail traders [2]. - Standard contracts will consist of 100,000 ADA, 5,000 LINK, or 250,000 XLM, while micro contracts will include 10,000 ADA, 250 LINK, or 12,500 XLM, allowing for lower financial commitment [3]. - The expansion of the crypto product suite aims to provide capital efficiency and versatility for trading strategies [3]. Group 2: Market Context - The introduction of these futures contracts comes in response to increasing demand for regulated cryptocurrency investments, with CME Group reporting a 139% increase in average daily volume of crypto derivatives to 278,000 contracts in 2025, amounting to a notional value of $12 billion [4]. - CME Group's offerings now include futures and options for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, and Solana, reflecting a comprehensive approach to regulated crypto products [5]. Group 3: Market Reaction - Following the announcement, the prices of ADA, LINK, and XLM showed minimal changes, with ADA down 2.2% to $0.39, XLM down 1.1% to $0.22, and LINK down 0.49% to $13.7 [6][7]. - The overall market capitalization experienced a nearly 1% decline during the same period, indicating subdued market performance despite the introduction of new products [7].

Economic Importance of Asia Pacific - Asia Pacific is expected to contribute around 60% of global growth in 2025 and 2026, with China, Japan, and India among the top five countries in global nominal GDP rankings [2][3] Rising Demand for Derivatives - Asia Pacific accounted for 62% of global derivatives trading in October 2025, with a month-on-month increase of 4.5% in trading volumes [4] - CME Group reported a record high average daily volume of 26.3 million contracts in October, with Asia Pacific's ADV rising by 29% year-on-year to 2 million contracts [5] Middle-Class Growth and Investment Trends - The number of middle-class consumers in Asia Pacific has surpassed that of the U.S. and Europe, projected to reach 3.5 billion by 2030, accounting for 65% of the global total [6] - Retail investors are increasingly diversifying their portfolios to manage risks associated with interest rates, currency fluctuations, and equity volatility [7] Institutional Demand and Market Development - Growing institutional demand for risk management is expected to drive the development of the futures and options market over the next five to ten years [8] Gold Derivatives Market - Asian consumers are showing a growing appetite for gold derivatives, with gold prices rising over 50% in the past year and reaching nearly $4,380 per ounce in October [9][10] - A third of CME Group Gold futures volume was traded during Asian hours in Q2 2025, an increase from 25% historically [10] China's Derivatives Market Growth - China's futures and options market has seen robust growth over the past 15 years, with increased access for Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) [11][12] - Recent regulatory changes have opened access to new commodities contracts and ETF options for QFIs, increasing the total number of tradeable products to over 100 [13] - The Shanghai Futures Exchange is consulting on proposals to allow foreign investors to use foreign currency as collateral and trade directly [14] - The China Securities Regulatory Commission has implemented provisions to enhance regulation in the futures market [15] Vietnam's Market Reforms - Vietnam is introducing reforms to open its markets to foreign investors, including a new trading system and removal of pre-funding requirements for Foreign Institutional Investors [17] - FTSE Russell plans to upgrade Vietnam to Secondary Emerging Market status, which could increase market participation and demand for derivatives [18] - A new circular has streamlined the registration and settlement of securities transactions, and a VN100 Index Futures contract was launched in October [19] Future Outlook - Asia's growing economic significance is expected to drive substantial growth in its derivatives market, fueled by internal demand and regulatory reforms [20]

Core Insights - CME Group has reported record net income for three consecutive years, with $3.5 billion in net income for full-year 2024, following $3.2 billion in 2023 and $2.7 billion in 2022 [2] Group 1: Strategic Focus - The company is focusing on key partnerships to drive growth in the global derivatives marketplace [1][3] - Partnerships are seen as a way to expand reach in areas where the company lacks subject matter expertise [3] Group 2: New Initiatives - A partnership with FanDuel, part of Flutter Entertainment, was announced to develop event-based contracts, allowing participants to take positions for as little as $1 [4] - This partnership aims to attract a retail user base that has historically had limited exposure to futures or options products [5] Group 3: Market Growth - The retail segment has been the fastest growing for CME, with a 20% increase so far in 2025 [6] - The company aims to meet clients where they are, further extending its reach in the retail market [6]