CME posts strongest January on record as futures volumes surge

CME Group recorded a peak January performance, after an overall growth of trading volumes across all categories. Crypto contracts volumes increased by 106%. 

CME Group recorded growth across all futures categories, closing the best January in history. Most trading products expanded their average daily volumes (ADV), led by metals as the most in-demand market. 

Metals trading saw a 218% increase in contracts for January, reflecting the rise of gold and silver to a series of records. On CME, the increase came from record daily trading activity on Micro Silver futures, 1-ounce Gold futures, and Micro Copper futures. Micro Gold futures did not reach a new record, but increased its daily volume by 472%. 

As a result, CME logged a 15% year-on-year increase in January, with a total of 29.6M average daily contracts traded. In January 2025, CME recorded average daily volumes of 25.7M contracts. January also broke the previous records reached just at the end of 2025, showing strong interest in trading the hottest trends.

Crypto trading was still strong on CME

Despite the overall underwhelming crypto performance, CME contracts grew by 106%, taking second place after metals. The recent crypto contract activity showed that precious metals could still not outcompete digital assets, or send their growth to zero. CME also became more important as a hedging tool, betting on a directional move for ETH. 

Crypto contracts did not break new records, but significantly increased their activity in January. Micro Ether Futures increased its daily volumes by 69% to 116,000 contracts. Ether futures increased its volumes by 67% to 20,000 contracts. 

In total, cryptocurrency activity in January reached 408,000 contracts, for a total notional value of $10.8B. Ethereum was the main focus, as the token was more volatile compared to BTC. 

Metal and crypto futures far surpassed the growth for debt and equities, which remained the slowest-moving categories in January. 

The positive response to crypto futures will boost the upcoming CME contracts for Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar. CME is still seen as a potential signal for crypto activity and price direction.

CME prepares for 24/7 crypto trading

The growing demand for crypto activity is leading up to the introduction of 24/7 crypto futures and options trading, with a weekly maintenance period. 

Trading round the clock is expected by the end of Q1, 2026. Crypto trading on a 24/7 basis is part of Initiative 2 by CME. The exchange will migrate crypto futures and options to the new schedule to mimic crypto native exchanges.

The move by CME is part of the ongoing convergence between crypto-native projects and traditional finance. At the same time, Hyperliquid managed to capture 2% of the CME silver volumes, just a month after listing its first on-chain contracts.

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