The CME Group, the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, suspended trading across several major asset classes after a cooling issue at a CyrusOne data center caused a significant systems outage. The malfunction brought its Globex platform to a standstill, impacting futures, options, and foreign exchange markets.

In a statement, CME confirmed the cooling problem and assured clients that its support teams were working to resolve the issue. CyrusOne, headquartered in Dallas, operates over 55 data centers globally across the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Widespread Market Impact

The outage had an immediate effect on global markets. According to LSEG data, futures prices for key indices like the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and 10-year U.S. Treasuries stopped updating. Quotes for commodities, including gold and oil, were also frozen.

The disruption extended to the EBS foreign exchange platform, a critical venue that handled billions in daily trading volume for major currency pairs like the euro-dollar and dollar-yen in October. While some spot forex traders could find alternative venues, brokers without access to live prices found it difficult to complete transactions.

One affected trader told Reuters that the halt compounded an already slow day following the Thanksgiving holiday, noting that it was disruptive at the end of a volatile month when many market participants were looking to transact.

Disruption Occurs Amid Crypto Expansion

The technical failure came after a particularly strong month for CME’s cryptocurrency derivatives. The exchange recorded a surge in digital asset contracts in October, with average daily volume climbing to a record 26.3 million contracts.

Despite a broader market downturn that has since tempered trading activity, CME has continued to expand its crypto offerings. The group recently announced plans to introduce two new spot-quoted futures contracts for XRP and Solana, which are scheduled to go live next month. Furthermore, CME Group intends to launch round-the-clock trading for its crypto futures and options products beginning in 2026.