Crypto traders traded more than $500 million in synthetic oil futures on decentralized exchange Hyperliquid this weekend, betting that renewed military conflict in the Middle East could push crude oil prices back to $100 a barrel.
The surge in blockchain-based trading followed Iran’s abrupt decision to close the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, reversing a reopening announced a day earlier.
Reports The attacks on ships near the vital waterway left investors looking for ways to hedge their energy exposure while traditional global financial markets were closed.
Oil prices are rising on Hyperliquid
On Hyperliquid, perpetual futures are linked to the international benchmark Brent crude oil rose above $90 a barrel, erasing a recent 10% decline triggered by news of the Strait’s brief reopening on Friday.
West Texas Intermediate contracts rose to $86, up sharply from a $79 close on traditional commodity exchanges Friday afternoon.
The weekend rush highlights a growing shift among market participants using blockchain infrastructure to bypass standard trading hours.
Unlike Wall Street, crypto derivatives platforms operate continuously.
Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 system allows developers to create 24/7 leveraged futures markets for traditional assets such as oil, gold and stocks, provided they hold 500,000 of the platform’s native HYPE tokens as collateral.
Driven by the ongoing geopolitical panic, open interest on these synthetic markets has reached a record of over $2 billion.
The US and Iran resume hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz
The renewed hostilities stem from the failure of a temporary ceasefire that expires on April 22.
President Donald Trump said the US naval blockade of Iranian ports will continue until a peace deal is reached.
In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to target all approaching commercial ships, claiming they would maintain the closure until the US lifted port restrictions.
After the closure, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said: said on X:
“We warned you, but you didn’t pay attention! Now enjoy the return of the situation in the Strait of Hormuz to its previous state.”
Crypto bettors in prediction markets have quickly priced in the pessimism. Betting is offered on Polymarket, another blockchain-based platform chances that shipping traffic in the strait would normalize by the end of the month, fell to 22% at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, geopolitical fears have also stalled momentum in the broader crypto market. Bitcoin hovered around $75,028 on Sunday as traders abandoned riskier digital assets in favor of defensive energy hedges.
With global inflation already an ongoing concern, markets are bracing for higher production and transportation costs if Monday morning’s traditional open market pushes crude above the $100 threshold.