Hyperliquid’s HYPE token entered the top 10 crypto assets by market capitalization, beating Cardano’s ADA amid a 1,700-fold increase in trading volume due to oil volatility during the US-Iran conflict.
Interestingly, Bitcoin benefited significantly from the broader crypto bid during the conflict, but HYPE gained a second channel as traders used Hyperliquid’s platform to express their views on oil 24 hours a day, including on weekends when conventional futures venues were closed.
From March 1 to March 18, HYPE’s market value rose from about $8.16 billion to $10.66 billion, a gain of about 30.7%, according to Crypto Slates facts. During the same period, the token rose from number 13 to number 10 in the site’s rankings.
This move built on the momentum already building in the decentralized perpetual futures markets. Hyperliquid had gained significant market share as traders moved more derivatives activity on-chain and as the venue expanded its reach beyond crypto-native speculation.
The conflict between the US and Iran has accelerated this trend by giving traders a reason to use crypto rails for real-time exposure to oil-related volatility.
That gave HYPE a different profile than many large-cap tokens, because traders were no longer pricing the token solely as exposure to a fast-growing crypto platform. Instead, they are also pricing in a platform that becomes a live macro hedging platform while traditional markets are offline.
The volatility of oil stimulates the flow in the chain
The latest conflict began after a US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28, which led to a rise in oil prices and a scramble in markets to reprice supply risk.
Since then, Brent oil prices have fallen above $100 a barrel, with analysts eyeing the possibility of further gains if shipping lanes or regional energy infrastructure are disrupted.
Hyperliquid became one of the places where that picture emerged in magnitude, as trading in oil-linked perpetual contracts on the platform expanded rapidly as the war developed.
Facts Flowscan showed that the cumulative volume of oil futures on Hyperliquid increased from approximately $339 million on February 28 to more than $10 billion at the time of writing.
Bitwise research analyst Danny Nelson explained that the high Hyperliquid volume was a sign that traders were using the on-chain market to hedge a commodity that remains central to the global economy.
Oil was about 2.5 times more volatile during the war than in the two weeks before the conflict, he said, highlighting the gap that occurs when traditional futures markets close for the weekend as headlines continue to change.
He added:
“Wartime forces markets to adapt. Sometimes you don’t realize you need a solution until it’s staring you in the face. I think that’s what’s happening here with weekend hedging. Hyperliquid’s weekend oil sessions have grown 1,700x in just a month.”
Notably, Hyperliquid had confirmed the trend, saying that real asset trading at this venue repeatedly set records, with more than $1.3 billion in open interest and $1.4 billion in weekend volume.
The company said the platform had become a platform for 24/7 price research in oil, metals and stock indices when the standard markets were closed.
Nevertheless, the scale still remained small compared to existing energy markets. Nelson noted that traditional futures platforms handle about $18.5 billion in WTI contracts on an average trading day, or about 35 times Hyperliquid’s best weekend oil session.
Still, Hyperliquid’s pace of growth attracted attention because it suggested a market segment was being built during live geopolitical tensions rather than through a slower cycle of product launches and user incentives.
The revenue structure helps explain HYPE’s rally
HYPE rose alongside that activity because Hyperliquid’s structure ties platform revenue more directly to token demand than many crypto networks do.
According to Hyperliquid’s documentationthe trading fees are sent to a relief fund, which uses them to buy HYPE on the open market.
Tokens held in the fund are burned, causing the supply to decrease over time. Users who deploy HYPE also receive a discount on fees on the platform. The result is a model that allows traders to view the token more as an exchange-linked asset whose value can increase with trading volume.
That framework became more relevant as the war-driven oil trade increased volume. Simply put, more trades generated more fees, and more fees increased the amount of HYPE that was bought back and removed from circulation. The market had a revenue-based reason to reprice the token.
DefiLlama facts showed that Hyperliquid generated approximately $182.5 billion in perpetual futures volume in 30 days, $42.69 billion in seven days, and $6.76 billion in 24 hours.
The platform also reported about $45.4 million in 30-day revenue, which would amount to about $554 million annually if activity remained near that level.
Taking this into account, Arthur Hayes, founder of BitMEX, said: described Hyperliquid as the largest revenue-generating crypto project outside of stablecoins.
He said 97% of those revenues were used to buy back HYPE from the market, a design he said gave the token a stronger link to the platform’s cash flow than many other crypto assets. According to him, Hyperliquid could continue to take derivatives volume from centralized exchanges while adding new products to increase revenue.
Some of that product expansion is already underway through HIP-3, Hyperliquid’s framework for perpetual permissionless listings, which has enabled trading of real assets. The trading platform also aims to enable prediction markets and options-style derivatives as part of its range of features.
The combination of these developments, he argued, would boost HYPE’s potential to reach $150 by August next year.
A war trade becomes a test of the market structure
In the meantime, the next question is whether that wartime flow turns into a permanent demand category.
The continued use of Hyperliquid for oil and metals-related contracts after tensions have subsided would support the argument that 24/7 macro trading on crypto rails could capture a larger share of the activity.
However, a pullback in these volumes once energy prices calm down would weaken the revenue assumptions that helped HYPE rise this month.
Meanwhile, there are also short-term risks. Token unlocks remain on the calendar, including an April 6 unlock that traders will be watching for supply pressure. At the same time, questions remain after investigations into Hyperliquid’s October 2025 stress event raised concerns about the way the platform managed a large liquidation and its use of automatic deleveraging.
Even with these issues, the move to the highest level of crypto assets reflected a clear sequence. The war between the US and Iran has reduced oil volatility. Oil volatility boosted demand for markets that remained open 24 hours a day.
Hyperliquid captured some of that demand through on-chain perpetuals, and HYPE benefited because the platform’s fee structure directly contributes to token buybacks and burns.