On February 28, Bloomberg reported that escalating tensions between the United States, Israel, and Iran prompted traders to turn to crypto trading venues for 24/7 hedging. Oil-linked perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid rose approximately 6.2% to $70.6 per barrel, while gold and silver perpetual contracts rose over 5% and 8% respectively, reaching $5,464 and $97.5 per ounce. Silver perpetual contracts saw over $400 million in trading volume over the past 24 hours, while gold contracts saw nearly $140 million. US stock index contracts on the platform fell between 1% and 2%.
The conflict in Iran triggered a safe-haven sell-off in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin falling as much as 3.8% to $63,038 before stabilizing around $64,000; ETH fell as much as 4.5% to $1,836. According to CoinGecko data, the total market capitalization of digital assets evaporated by approximately $128 billion after the outbreak of the conflict.
Jake Ostrovskis, head of OTC trading at Wintermute, stated that Bitcoin's 24/7 trading makes it the most liquid asset for traders to express macroeconomic views when other markets are closed, and more asset classes are moving towards 24/7 trading. Charlie Ambrose, co-founder of Felix, said this was another weekend of 24/7 price discovery through perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid, potentially driving a macroeconomic shift in how global markets operate.
