The mood on commodity trading desks undergoes a significant shift by Friday afternoon. For the majority of the week, traders focus on profiting from their bets, but as the weekend approaches, their primary concern becomes managing risk.
With the rise of perpetual futures in crypto, traders now have the ability to hedge their positions over the weekend, potentially capturing profits in chaotic markets. This development may lead to a shift in how traders approach the weekend, with some already adapting their strategies to incorporate continuous trading. While institutional traders have yet to fully embrace perpetual futures due to liquidity concerns and infrastructure limitations, the growth of crypto-native firms, proprietary trading shops, and savvy retail traders is driving the adoption of these instruments.
As the financial landscape continues to evolve, the traditional notion of the weekend as a period of inactivity may become a thing of the past.