Forex & Crypto Market Hours: Is 24/7 Trading Coming to Traditional FX?

Current FX Market Hours and Scale

The foreign exchange (FX) market currently operates “24 hours a day, five days a week,” running from 5 p.m. ET Sunday to 5 p.m. ET Friday. Local hubs – Tokyo, London, New York – form overlapping trading sessions where most liquidity concentrates. Global FX turnover hit a record $7.5 trillion per day in April 2022, underscoring its massive scale.

Despite this uninterrupted schedule, FX still closes overnight and over weekends. Its structure reflects legacy banking hours and centralized liquidity venues, not true 24/7 trading.

Sources: Investopedia FX, Reuters Global

Crypto’s Always-On Trading Model

Cryptocurrency markets operate non-stop, 24/7, without a set "closing" time. That round-the-clock model supports arbitrage-free pricing and continuous access, but still sees volume peaks during U.S. and European business hours.

Academic research highlights that crypto markets still pulse in sync with traditional financial events, especially around U.S. macroeconomic news. Yet, the key point: there’s no enforced downtime—a radical departure from FX’s time-bound schedule.

Sources: Investopedia Crypto, Arxiv

Pressure on FX to Rethink Trading Hours

As crypto markets continue to operate around the clock, pressure is mounting on the traditional FX industry to reconsider its long-standing 24/5 model. While FX remains tied to weekday trading, the flexibility and momentum of digital assets are prompting some institutions to rethink the boundaries of market hours.

TradingPedia notes that this shift is not just technological, but also psychological – traders increasingly expect uninterrupted access, regardless of asset class.

Liquidity and Volatility: FX vs. Crypto

One of the clearest differences lies in trading behavior and liquidity patterns. According to a BIS study, continuous crypto trading allows for faster price adjustment to global news and reduces the risk of market gaps seen during FX’s weekend closures.

However, this constant uptime also leads to more volatile and fragmented liquidity, especially during off-peak hours. Still, as shown in data from Investopedia, some of the largest price moves in Bitcoin and other digital assets occur over the weekend, highlighting growing participation and risk appetite during times when traditional markets are closed.

Sources: Investopedia Weekends, BIS

Trading Platforms Adapting to 24/7 Models

Trading platforms are beginning to respond. In 2023, Deutsche Börse’s 360T launched 3DX, a regulated digital asset exchange licensed under MiCA and BaFin. While the venue began with limited hours, Deutsche Börse confirmed it is “expected to evolve into 24/7 trading,” aligning with the operational model pioneered by crypto markets. That shift signals how FX infrastructure may be moving toward more flexible trading structures.

Even FX brokers are acknowledging the impact of crypto’s schedule. As noted by Forex.com, the cryptocurrency market’s 24/7 nature offers global traders continuous access, in contrast to FX’s fixed Sunday-to-Friday cycle. This always-on approach is not only reshaping trader expectations but also challenging institutions to modernize operational, settlement, and risk systems to support potential future expansion in FX hours. 

Sources: Deutsche Börse, Forex.com

Operational Challenges for FX Expansion

Crypto’s always-on model is proving operationally viable. As 360T’s 3DX platform evolves toward round-the-clock trading, and Börse Stuttgart’s digital unit reports strong revenue contributions from continuous crypto markets, traditional FX may gradually follow suit.

Yet entrenched systems - including interbank networks, centralized clearing, and global liquidity infrastructure - aren’t ready for a frictionless 24/7 paradigm, a challenge highlighted by the Bank for International Settlements, which cites risks around operational resilience and fragmented liquidity during off-peak hours.

A Phased Path Toward 24/7 FX Trading

The consensus among industry participants suggests a phased shift rather than a leap. Expect proposals like limited weekend sessions, extended evening windows, or pilot programs - especially in crypto-integrated FX ecosystems. But a full 24/7 FX market? That might still be several years - and serious structural reforms - away. As Forex.com notes, FX remains anchored to a Sunday-to-Friday cycle for now, even as crypto’s always-on model redefines what traders expect from modern markets.

Sources: Ledger Insights, Wiki, BIS, Forex.com