Crypto Market Calendar

Crypto trades 24/7, but its volatility is scheduled. A handful of recurring event types — macro prints, expiries, unlocks, upgrades — account for a disproportionate share of large moves.

Macro: The Dominant Scheduled Risk

FOMC decisions and US CPI releases are the largest recurring volatility events for Bitcoin: rate expectations reprice the dollar and risk appetite globally, and crypto trades as high-beta risk. Volatility compresses into the print and expands violently out of it.

Monthly US jobs data and quarterly PCE matter secondarily. Weekend illiquidity around macro-heavy weeks amplifies gaps.

Crypto-Native Events

Options expiries: monthly and especially quarterly expiries concentrate open interest; price often gravitates toward the max-pain zone into the event and moves freely after.

Token unlocks: vesting cliffs put scheduled supply into specific tickers — the one calendar event with per-coin precision.

Network events: halvings, major upgrades and hard forks reprice fundamentals on known dates; ETF and regulatory decision deadlines do the same for flows.

Key Points

FOMC / CPI

The two biggest recurring vol events. Expect compression before the print and expansion after — direction depends on the surprise, not the number itself.

Options expiry

Quarterly expiries pin price toward max pain into the date; the constraint releases afterward.

Unlocks

The only calendar risk with per-coin targeting — check the schedule before holding through a cliff.

FAQ

Which scheduled events move crypto the most?

FOMC rate decisions and US CPI prints, followed by quarterly options expiries and large token unlocks. Network upgrades matter for the specific asset involved.

Does Bitcoin really react to stock-market events?

Yes — since 2020 Bitcoin has traded as high-beta global risk. Macro liquidity events transmit into crypto within seconds, around the clock.