What Around-the-Clock Markets Need to Work

In Q3, Pyth data powered more than $2 trillion in notional volume on traditional asset classes across offshore derivatives venues. Around $1.3 trillion of it came from equity perpetuals, with an ever growing part of it traded while U.S. markets were closed.

Pyth’s recap of the WFIC 2026 panel on extended trading hours ended on a question: what makes an always-on market work well?

Pyth’s answer: an always-on market works when the venues inside it have access to a consistent, reliable view of price, regardless of the hour.

The always-on market already exists

The recap described overnight venues as an early test. Offshore, the test is well underway. Derivatives venues that started in crypto now list equities, commodities and FX alongside digital assets, and they are open every hour of every week.

“I’ve recently stopped calling the crypto exchanges crypto exchanges, because they’ve really evolved to become some very big cross-asset derivative powerhouses, and all of them are trying to become the everything exchange.”
Michael James, Douro Labs, contributor to Pyth Network

The question for December 6 is how the venues that never close fit with the venues now extending their hours.

Fragmentation is less of a threat than it looks

The recap named fragmentation as the main risk. Pyth’s view is that offshore perp venues and regulated U.S. exchanges serve different users and strengthen each other.

“I don’t think offshore perp venues are competitors at all to U.S. regulated exchanges and ATSs. I think it actually works well in exchanges’ favor.”

Perp traders want weekend access, stablecoin margin and leverage U.S. venues will not offer. The market makers quoting those perps carry equity and commodity exposure seven days a week, and they need somewhere to hedge. Deeper overnight liquidity on U.S. exchanges and ATSs gives them that, and better price discovery onshore improves the prices that reach offshore venues.

That loop only works if prices connect across venues. Four things make that possible.

1. One view of price across venues

A participant watching a single venue at 3am sees part of the market. Pyth aggregates prices from first-party contributors: exchanges, trading firms, market makers and banks. A feed goes live only once a minimum number of contributors publish to it, reducing reliance on pricing from any single venue.

“In areas of thinner liquidity, whether it’s overnight or whether it’s on the weekend, we make sure we’re sourcing really, really great institutions or ATSs or exchanges… to make sure that we have a really good price at all times and that our price doesn’t go stale.”

2. A price that says how sure it is

The recap introduced Pyth’s confidence intervals. They matter most in the hours the new sessions add.

“The confidence interval basically tells you what the market thinks the price is. There’s different prices happening in different places, and so we’ll essentially give a plus minus of what the market’s thinking.”

In deep markets the interval stays tight. When prices across contributors diverge, it can widen, and risk systems can respond to that directly instead of treating a 3am print like a noon print

3. Operations that never close

Enterprise clients have escalated at 1am on a Friday heading into Saturday, expecting an answer within 30 minutes. Support coverage spans the U.S. West Coast and Asia to meet that.

“I don’t think anyone would be comfortable offering a 24/7 model of support and data without being able to cover the weekend hours.”

Access follows the same hours. A client can sign up on Pyth Terminal, complete KYC, accept terms, set up billing and start receiving data in under an hour, on a Saturday if needed.

4. Official exchange data where it is needed

As platforms built on always-on data mature, they also need official exchange data such as opening and closing prices. Pyth’s recent work with Nasdaq brings exchange data to these platforms, with more exchanges to follow.

The answer

An always-on market works well when price holds together across venues and across hours. Offshore venues have already shown the demand: $2 trillion in a single quarter. On December 6, the U.S. session starts closing the gap.

Explore U.S. equities coverage, available 24/5, on Pyth Terminal here.