As the CME futures market closed on Friday, Bitcoin $BTC$77,528.46 The price of the derivative was $84,445 on the exchange. When trading resumed on Sunday night, trading opened at $77,385, reflecting the spot market for the largest cryptocurrency, which fell as low as $75,000 on Saturday. This price discrepancy created a gap in the pricing of CME Bitcoin futures.
The CME gap is the difference between the futures price at the close of trading and the price the next time the exchange opens. Because, unlike spots, $BTCfutures are not traded 24/7, so significant price movements and gaps can occur during daily maintenance breaks and over weekends.
These gaps are closely monitored by traders. Historically, they tend to fill up within a few days or weeks, but in some cases they can fill up over a longer period of time. Closing the gap is an observed tendency rather than a certainty, but it seems to occur frequently.
At the time of writing, spot Bitcoin is trading at around $77,800, while CME Bitcoin futures are trading at around $78,230. This puts futures roughly 7-8% below Friday’s CME closing price.
CME Bitcoin Futures are cash-settled contracts designed to track the price of the largest cryptocurrency. Trading will be suspended for one hour a day and will remain closed over the weekend.
