DERIV Derivatives · Updated March 2026 · ~5 min · For TradingView desktop 3.2.1
Bitcoin Futures Continuous Contracts & Roll Gaps
On CME Bitcoin futures you'll see codes with an exclamation mark: BTC1!, BTC2!. Understand the naming and the roll mechanism, and futures charts stop misleading you.
Code convention
| Notation | Meaning |
|---|---|
BTC1! | Bitcoin futures front continuous contract (nearest/most active month) |
BTC2! | Second continuous contract (next expiry) |
Roll gap and back-adjustment
A continuous contract is stitched from expiring contracts; old and new carry a spread (carry cost/expectations), so the chart shows a jump where "no trade ever happened." Trading it as a real gap is a classic trap. Chart settings offer back-adjustment: adjust on keeps patterns continuous (good for TA), adjust off keeps prices real (good for absolute levels), at the cost of a false gap at each stitch.
Spot or futures
For patterns and cross-market comparison, CME futures have proper sessions and settlement; for 24/7 continuous action and perp sentiment, spot/perps are more continuous. A crypto quirk: futures have sessions while spot doesn't, so the weekend gap is futures-only.