The escalation of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East has driven an explosive increase in on-chain crude oil trading data

By: rootdata|2026/03/12 16:42:00
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OKX Ventures has released data on social media indicating that the escalation of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East has led to an explosive increase in on-chain crude oil trading data. On Hyperliquid, the 24-hour trading volume of the CL-USDC perpetual contract, which tracks WTI oil prices, surged from an average of $21 million before the crisis to between $1.2 billion and $1.99 billion. At peak times, crude oil trading volume even surpassed Ethereum (ETH), becoming the second-largest asset by trading volume on the network.

The trading volume on centralized exchanges (CEX) also saw a significant rise. According to Gate's data, the 24-hour trading volume of its Brent crude oil (XBR) contract skyrocketed by 951%, while the trading volume of the WTI crude oil (XTI) contract jumped nearly 397%. The inflow of funds and open interest (OI) data indicate that a large amount of institutional and retail capital is flooding into the market. Hyperliquid's crude oil OI is currently stable between $183 million and $290 million, suggesting that the funds are not only engaging in ultra-short-term speculation but are also establishing long-term macro hedging positions.

Hyperliquid's HIP-3 market (which supports the listing of traditional financial assets without permission) has recently seen total open interest (OI) surpassing $1.2 billion, setting a new historical high.

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