Does crypto trade 24/7?

Yes. Cryptocurrencies trade around the clock, every day of the year, including weekends and public holidays. Blockchains never close, and crypto exchanges run continuously. The parts that still keep office hours are banks and the stock-market products linked to crypto.

Why does crypto never close?

A blockchain is a network of computers spread across the world. It has no opening bell and no head office. New transactions are processed all day and all night.

Crypto exchanges follow the same pattern. Their matching software runs without a break, and their customers sit in every time zone. Stock markets, by contrast, have set sessions, close for holidays and use "circuit breakers" that pause trading after a steep fall. Crypto markets generally have no such pause, one of several differences between crypto and stocks. Exchanges do go offline for maintenance, and some have suffered outages at moments of very heavy trading.

What happens on weekends?

Trading continues, but with fewer participants. Many large trading firms scale back outside the working week, so there are fewer buy and sell orders waiting. In a thinner market, a given amount of buying or selling moves the price further.

News that breaks on a Saturday is priced in at once. Traders using borrowed money can have positions closed by force overnight, a process explained in the guide to futures and leverage. The lack of any break is one reason crypto is so volatile.

What still keeps business hours?

• Bank transfers. Moving dollars to or from an exchange depends on bank payment systems, and many of those do not process transfers at night, on weekends or on holidays. A coin can be sold on a Sunday and the cash may not reach a bank until a working day.
• ETFs. A spot bitcoin ETF trades only while its stock exchange is open. If bitcoin moves over the weekend, the fund's price jumps to catch up at the next open. Traders call this a gap.
• Regulated futures. For years, bitcoin futures at CME Group in Chicago paused over weekends. CME said its crypto futures and options moved to 24/7 trading on May 29, 2026.
• Customer support. Help desks at many platforms are slower outside office hours.

What does it mean in practice?

With no closing bell, there is no official daily closing price. Data sites pick a cutoff, commonly midnight in a standard time zone, so the "daily change" shown for one coin can differ from site to site. The same convention shapes the candles on a price chart.

Opinions differ on whether nonstop trading is a good thing. Supporters say it gives people in every time zone equal access and lets prices react to news immediately. Critics say a market with no pause offers no time to cool off, and that it encourages compulsive price checking.