CME Group plans to launch Treasury Link in Q4 2026, connecting CBOT Treasury futures with BrokerTec cash Treasuries on CME Globex to support centralised spread trading, reduce legging risk and improve fixed income execution.
CME Group Announces Treasury Link Launch on 9 July 2026
On 9 July 2026, Chicago, United States — international derivatives marketplaceCME Groupannounced that it will launch Treasury Link, a feature designed to seamlessly connect the world’s largest liquidity pools for US Treasury futures and cash Treasuries.
The new service will enable transparent and centralised spread trading betweenCBOTTreasury futures and BrokerTec cash Treasuries on theCMEGlobex platform. The feature is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory review.
Core Mechanism and Technical Foundation of Treasury Link
FX Link Technology and Single-Submission Trading
Built on the established FX Link technology, Treasury Link allows market participants to trade the spread between the futures and cash markets through a single submission. This will eliminate legging risk and, for the first time, enable clients to manage their exposure through a single spread.
Under the existing model, participants usually have to execute each trading leg separately in the cash market and the futures market. If prices move between the two legs, execution risk and operational friction may arise. Treasury Link integrates this process into a centralised spread order, applicable to basis trading and relative value strategies between Treasury futures and cash Treasuries.
Listing Rules and Trading Channel Arrangements
US Treasury futures will continue to be listed on the Chicago Board of Trade and subject to its rules; cash Treasury trading will continue to be provided through BrokerTec. Both product types operate on CME Globex electronic trading infrastructure, while retaining their respective regulatory and operational frameworks.
“Treasury Link will connect cash and futures markets in an unprecedented way, giving market participants faster, more efficient trade execution and unlocking new spread trading opportunities in fixed income. This functionality can improve execution efficiency while combining CME Group’s total capital efficiencies of US$27 billion across cash, futures and swaps trading.”
(Source: CME Group, Press Release “CME Group to Launch Treasury Link”, published on 2026-07-09, Mike Dennis quote and feature description section.)
Background to the BrokerTec Chicago Platform
Treasury Link is a follow-on product to BrokerTec Chicago. BrokerTec Chicago is BrokerTec’s second central limit order book (CLOB), designed for relative value traders and co-located with CME Group’s US Treasury futures and options markets at the Aurora data centre in Illinois.
BrokerTec Chicago began trading on 6 October 2025, with institutions including Citi, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley participating on the first day of trading. The platform covers all seven on-the-run benchmark US Treasuries, with contract size and price precision aligned with the futures market, supporting smaller notional amounts and tighter price increments.
On 8 April 2026, BrokerTec Chicago set a single-day trading volume record of US$1.22 billion. CME Group acquired BrokerTec in 2018. BrokerTec is one of the main electronic platforms for trading benchmark US cash Treasuries and repo products.
Key Data for CME Group’s Fixed Income Markets
| Metric | Timeline | Value | Year-on-Year Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average daily volume of interest rate futures and options | First half of 2026 | 16.6 million contracts | Up 9% |
| Average daily volume of US Treasury futures and options | First half of 2026 | 9.7 million contracts (US$923 billion notional) | Up 8% |
| BrokerTec overall average daily volume | First half of 2026 | US$1.067 trillion | Up 13% |
| BrokerTec Chicago single-day trading volume record | 2026-04-08 | US$1.22 billion | Record since platform launch |
CME Group also disclosed that BrokerTec cash US Treasury average daily volume reached US$93 billion in June 2026, up 5% year on year. On 23 March 2026, BrokerTec overall single-day volume reached a record US$215 billion. The group cited total capital efficiencies of US$27 billion across its cash, futures and swaps businesses.
(Sources: CME Group, Press Release “CME Group to Launch Treasury Link”, published on 2026-07-09, H1 2026 trading data section; CME Group, Press Release “Leading Financial Institutions to Join BrokerTec Chicago”, published on 2025-09-04, platform launch information.)
Market Impact and Launch Timetable
Treasury Link is expected to go live on CME Globex in the fourth quarter of 2026, with the final timetable subject to regulatory review. CME Group said the feature is designed to improve transparency and execution efficiency in Treasury cash-futures spread trading, while lowering the threshold for institutional investors to participate in basis trading.
Market analysts noted that combining the purchase of cash Treasuries with an equivalent short futures position into a single electronic trade could help simplify basis trading strategies commonly used by hedge funds and may attract small and mid-sized institutions with fewer brokerage relationships. Participants must have access to both BrokerTec and CME Treasury futures trading permissions in order to use the relevant functionality.
Questions Related to CME Group Treasury Link
How is Treasury Link related to FX Link technology?
Treasury Link is built on CME Group’s established FX Link technology architecture. FX Link has previously been used to connect the foreign exchange cash and futures markets, enabling participants to trade the spread between the two markets through a single submission. Treasury Link applies the same model to CBOT Treasury futures and BrokerTec cash Treasuries, enabling centralised matching and execution of cash-futures spreads.
What is legging risk, and how does Treasury Link eliminate it?
Legging risk refers to the risk of an adverse execution outcome caused by price movements between separate trading legs when participants execute each leg separately in the futures and cash markets. Treasury Link allows market participants to complete a cash-futures spread trade through a single submission, binding both legs into one unified order and thereby reducing market movement risk during the legging process.
What functions do BrokerTec Chicago and Treasury Link each perform?
BrokerTec Chicago went live on 6 October 2025 and is BrokerTec’s second central limit order book for relative value traders, co-located with CME Group’s Treasury futures market at the Aurora data centre. Treasury Link further connects CBOT Treasury futures with BrokerTec cash Treasuries on this foundation, enabling cross-market single-submission spread trading. It is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Will the rules governing US Treasury futures and cash trading change?
No. CME Group has made clear that US Treasury futures will continue to be listed on the Chicago Board of Trade and subject to CBOT rules, while cash Treasury trading will continue to be provided through BrokerTec. Treasury Link only connects the two liquidity pools at the CME Globex trading layer and does not change the listing venue or regulatory framework of either product.
