Bitcoin Nears $123K ATH as CME Futures Gap Faces Gravity Test

The CME’s bitcoin futures, which are cash-settled contracts tracking the broader cryptocurrency price, only trade from Sunday evening to Friday evening, pausing for an hour each day. Large price changes during this pause or over weekends can create what traders call a “CME gap,” where the futures price jumps between sessions.

According to crypto trader and investor Daan Crypto Trades, bitcoin often retraces to fill these gaps, sometimes within hours or days. Daan stated on social media, “Most previous gaps that were created did close within the same day, but this one moved a bit further than those.”

Daan explained that bitcoin is entering a “price discovery” phase, meaning the asset is trading at levels higher than ever before. When this happens, gaps can become “runaway gaps,” where market strength prevents a quick return to earlier prices. “I’d recommend keeping an eye on this gap,” Daan said, adding, “If price were to close it, it could make for a decent reversal area. But I wouldn’t fully bet on it closing until price gets at least within a one to two percent proximity again, below $120,000 or so.”

As the U.S. market opened Monday, traders closely watched to see if bitcoin’s momentum would fill the futures gap or carry prices beyond $123,000, creating a new record and potentially leaving the gap open for now.