CME Treasury Open Interest Surges to Record 36.3 Million Contracts -- Every Tenor Hit

CME Group announced that open interest in its U.S. Treasury futures and options set a new all-time record of 36,328,151 contracts on February 19, surpassing the previous record of 35.1 million set in November 2025.

Records Across the Entire Yield Curve

This wasn't a one-tenor story. Every major Treasury product hit all-time highs simultaneously:

• 2-Year (ZT): 5.8 million contracts OI
• 5-Year (ZF): 7.9 million contracts OI
• 10-Year (ZN): 12.6 million contracts OI
• 30-Year (ZB): 3.6 million contracts OI
• Large Open Interest Holders: Record 2,100 per CFTC's February 10 COT report

"With open interest surpassing 36 million contracts, clients are continuing to turn to our U.S. Treasury markets in record numbers as uncertainty grows around monetary policy, government spending and other inflationary pressures," said Agha Mirza, CME Group Global Head of Rates and OTC Products.

CME noted that its interest rate complex now delivers over $25 billion in daily margin savings through portfolio margining with cleared interest rate swaps and cross-margining with FICC-cleared cash Treasuries.

Why This Matters for Bond Futures Traders

When every single tenor on the Treasury curve sets an open interest record simultaneously, it tells you two important things:

1. Institutional uncertainty is at extreme levels -- The record 2,100 large open interest holders means the broadest participation base in history is actively managing interest rate risk. Funds, banks, dealers, and CTAs are all positioned and hedged. That creates exceptional liquidity -- tighter spreads, deeper books, and more reliable technical levels in ZN, ZB, ZF, and ZT.
2. Any surprise triggers outsized moves -- With this much positioning in place, a surprise from the Fed, a weak Treasury auction, or a hot inflation print could trigger violent repricing as this massive open interest adjusts. We saw a taste of this dynamic when the 2s/10s curve flattened for 10 straight sessions recently -- the longest streak in over a decade.

With the 10-year yield currently around 4.05%, the Fed on hold at 3.50-3.75%, and stagflation fears building after Q4 GDP missed at 1.4% while Core PCE hit 3.0%, the basis trade and curve positioning are the dominant themes in rates right now.

The record participation means any trader in ZN, ZB, or the micros is operating in the most liquid Treasury futures environment in history. Use it wisely.

Source: CME Group / PR Newswire (February 24, 2026)