Event calendar — the moments not to be placing a market order
Fed decisions, US inflation and jobs data, options expiry, the weekly close and the halving — the scheduled volatility. Each one converted to your clock with a line on why a beginner should care.
Reading the calendar…
How to use the calendar
Not to predict direction — nobody knows which way the CPI print sends price — but to avoid being the liquidity. Spreads widen and books thin in the minute before a scheduled release; a resting stop a few dollars away gets swept and price comes back. The liquidity clock shows the same thing for the daily rhythm; this page shows the scheduled spikes. If a trade idea only works if you enter during the FOMC press conference, it is not a trade idea.
Questions people ask
Which events are on the calendar?
Scheduled ones only: FOMC decisions from the Federal Reserve's published calendar, US CPI and jobs reports from the BLS schedule, the monthly Deribit options expiry (last Friday, 08:00 UTC, rule-based), the weekly candle close and the Bitcoin halving estimate from the live block height. Nothing unscheduled — earnings, hacks and listings are news, not calendar.
Why do macro events matter for crypto?
Because since 2020 Bitcoin has mostly traded as a risk asset: rate expectations move the dollar and equities, and crypto follows within minutes. The FOMC statement and the CPI print are the two moments a beginner should simply not be placing a market order.
What is options expiry and why the last Friday?
Deribit, the largest crypto options venue, settles monthly and quarterly contracts on the last Friday of the month at 08:00 UTC. Large open interest at round strikes can pin price into the expiry and release it afterwards. Quarterly expiries (March, June, September, December) are the big ones.
Are the times right for my location?
Times are stored in UTC and converted with your device's time zone, daylight-saving included. US releases move by an hour in UTC when American clocks change (early November and mid-March).