The Chicago Mercantile Exchange faced one of its most disruptive trading incidents in years after a cooling failure at a major Illinois data center forced a halt that stretched for roughly 10 hours, freezing markets across multiple regions and igniting accusations of manipulation from frustrated traders.

CME confirmed that trading stopped because of a cooling system malfunction at the CyrusOne-operated facility in Aurora, a site that has served as the backbone of CME’s Globex electronic markets for nearly two decades.

The exchange restored full functionality at 1:30 p.m. UTC on Friday, but the interruption had already rippled through Asia and Europe, where participants were dealing with thin post-Thanksgiving liquidity.

CME Outage on Thin Thanksgiving Liquidity Sparks Questions From Traders

During the outage, traders across asset classes—equities, currencies, commodities, energy, and crypto—reported being unable to close or adjust positions, a scenario that several described as a “nightmare.”

One stock trader, Timothy Bozman, publicly accused CME of allowing a “simple issue” to cripple the entire futures complex, questioning how all major markets could be taken offline by a single point of failure.

Others went further, suggesting that the timing was “too convenient,” given that the halt arrived during the low-volume Asia session on Thanksgiving, when sudden price moves can unfold with limited resistance.

Some traders pointed out that silver futures were approaching a record high near $54 just minutes before prices froze, adding fuel to the speculation and frustration.

The outage was widespread because the Globex platform handles the majority of CME’s volume.

An earlier cryptonews report stated that crude and palm oil markets stopped moving during the halt, while crypto traders saw Bitcoin and Ethereum futures go offline entirely.

The timing added complexity for firms preparing month-end rolls, particularly those needing to adjust Treasury futures or SOFR-linked positions

Several traders later noted that even after markets reopened, delays continued in Treasury futures and certain rate products.

Trading activity had already been muted due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, but the outage further slowed an already quiet session.

One user on X publicly urged CME to cancel losses for trades affected during the freeze, reflecting the broader anxiety of traders locked into moving markets with no ability to act.

CME Suffers Major Outage as It Prepares Shift to 24/7 Crypto Trading in 2026

CyrusOne, which operates more than 55 data centers globally and is backed by KKR and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, confirmed the cooling malfunction.

The Aurora facility is well-known among high-frequency trading firms that place servers as physically close as possible to CME’s matching engines to shave off microseconds.

The exchange acknowledged that CME Direct, a platform used for some markets, remained unavailable even after Globex reopened, showing the extent of the disruption.

The incident lasted far longer than a similar 2019 CME outage, and it was the latest reminder of how centralized infrastructure can pose systemic risk in electronic markets.

CME has faced technical issues in the past, including a 2014 outage triggered by a software malfunction affecting agricultural contracts.

Despite the friction, markets resumed and continued adjusting to broader price movements.

Bitcoin futures, which closed on Wednesday at $90,355 before the holiday, reopened at $90,940 on Friday and pushed above $93,000 later in the session as BTC rebounded from its recent low of around $80,522.

Analysts noted that Bitcoin faces resistance near $95,000, but reclaiming that level could reopen the path toward six-figure territory.

The blackout also comes at a moment when CME is expanding its role in the digital asset sector. In October, the exchange said it plans to move its cryptocurrency futures and options into a full 24/7 trading cycle starting in early 2026, subject to regulatory approval.

The firm cited rapidly rising demand for continuous risk management in crypto markets, which never close.

CME said trading will run nonstop on Globex, aside from a brief weekly maintenance window, and weekend transactions will be assigned to the next business day for clearing and settlement.

The post CME Blackout: Traders Cry “Manipulation” After 10-Hour Halt Freezes Markets appeared first on Cryptonews.

Bitcoin block options traded this week showed $2 billion in long call condors from institutional or high-net-worth investors, and that bullishness could spill into Ethereum price predictions.

A Bitcoin recovery would ultimately send ripples across the altcoin market, positioning Ethereum for significant capital inflows.

While the outlook has been exclusively bearish over recent weeks, the weekend has seen sentiment flip with anticipations of a December U.S. interest rate cut rising from 20% to 85%.

Market participants are betting on the setup. Speculators have taken out roughly 20,000 BTC in notional call condor block trades on Deribit, structured to settle between $100,000 and $118,000 by December 2025 by year-end.

It’s an options strategy that involves buying four call options with different strike prices with the same expiry, often employed when the underlying asset is expected to be range-bound.

Most notably, a strategy commonly used among institutional investors.

With institutions betting big on the crypto market, Ethereum stands to benefit from exposure in TradFi markets through Spot ETFs.

Ethereum Price Prediction: Is This the Start of a New Uptrend?

While Derivatives traders bet on Bitcoin’s last bottom, Ethereum is flashing its own as it affirms the left shoulder of a potential bullish head-and-shoulders pattern.

Supportive momentum indicators point to a decisive bounce from a historical demand zone around $2,750 as a launchpad.

The RSI has made a sharp reversal from oversold conditions, while the MACD forms a golden cross above the signal line. Both metrics are typical of local bottoms as sellers exhaust and buyers step in.

A fully realised pattern breakout targets a return to its neckline around $5,500, an 80% gain and a push into new price discovery, setting new all-time highs.

But as the bull market matures, if Ethereum continues to see adoption among TradFi investors through ETFs and inclusion on mainstream balance sheets, this could extend 230% to $10,000.

SUBBD: A Coin You Should Watch This Cycle

As regulation pushes real-world utility narratives like privacy coins back into focus, platforms like SUBBD ($SUBBD) are gaining traction.

Positioned as an AI-powered content platform, SUBBD is redefining the $85 billion subscriber economy by giving creators true ownership and fans genuine access.

By cutting out the middlemen, $SUBDD puts control back into the hands of the people who create real value. Creators can monetize directly, while fans enjoy exclusive content, early releases, and meaningful interactions through token-gated perks.

The idea is already resonating. The SUBBD presale has surpassed $1.35 million, as investors back the move toward a decentralized creator economy.

With SUBBD, both sides win — creators earn more, and fans get closer, all while embracing the decentralization crypto was designed for.

The post Ethereum Price Prediction: Big Money Just Took a $2 Billion Position – Is ETH About to Make Its Next Giant Move? appeared first on Cryptonews.