The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the globe’s biggest financial derivatives platform, experienced a trading halt lasting roughly 10 hours from Thursday to Friday, resulting in significant criticism from traders prior to the resumption of services.

The trading disruption was attributed to a “cooling issue” at the CyrusOne data facility in Illinois, as stated in an official announcement from CME. All trading operations were fully restored, and activities for all markets recommenced at 1:30 PM UTC on Friday, according to an update from the exchange.

CME Announcement Source: CME Group

Traders expressed their frustration over the critical failure, which not only locked several users in their existing positions but also hindered others from initiating new trades and disrupted price discovery.

Stock trader Timothy Bozman criticized the CME for alleged market manipulation, questioning how a minor technical issue could incapacitate the entire futures platform. Timothy Bozman Source: Timothy Bozman

“Very convenient that this happens in Asia on Thanksgiving Day, when there’s already low volume. Sounds like you’re trying to manipulate the markets quickly in a certain direction,” another user remarked.

Even after the issue was rectified, traders continued to voice their frustrations, with many mentioning that the trading freeze occurred just moments before silver futures contracts were set to reach an all-time peak of $54, heightening speculations.

Bitcoin Futures Contracts Rise Post-Market Halt

The CME does not routinely share trading metrics for Thanksgiving Day, observed on Thursday this year. However, Bitcoin futures contracts closed at $90,355 on Wednesday and opened at $90,940 that Friday, per TradingView data.

The price of Bitcoin futures rose further on Friday, surpassing $93,000, as BTC rallied from a recent low of $80,522. Bitcoin Futures Rebound Source: TradingView

Analysts indicate that BTC may encounter resistance at $95,000, suggesting that if the cryptocurrency can regain this price as a support level, it might eventually reach the $100,000 mark.

The recent drop just above the $80,000 threshold marked the market’s lowest point, according to investor Arthur Hayes, who noted that improving liquidity conditions could elevate BTC prices in 2026, though he also cautioned about potential short-term drops.