By the end of the week, traders typically shift their focus from making profits to managing risk, as they cannot adjust their positions until markets reopen on Sunday evening. However, with the advent of perpetual futures contracts on crypto exchanges, traders can now hedge their exposure over the weekend, potentially creating new opportunities for profit. The growth of 24/7 trading is likely to influence the dynamics of traditional markets, particularly in the oil derivatives sector, where the availability of perpetual contracts is changing the way traders price short-dated options.
While institutional traders have been slow to adopt perpetual futures due to liquidity concerns and infrastructure limitations, the rise of crypto-native firms and retail traders is driving the growth of this market. As the financial infrastructure underlying traditional markets evolves to support 24/7 trading, it is likely that the distinction between weekdays and weekends will become less relevant, and markets will become increasingly continuous.