Leveraged traders on decentralized exchange Hyperliquid favor traditional commodities such as oil and silver, trading more actively than crypto tokens such as XRP (XRP) and solana (SOL).
Total trading volume in perpetual futures contracts tied to crude oil benchmarks WTI and Brent exceeded $500 million in the past 24 hours. The trading volume of the silver contract alone exceeded $412 million.
Looking at trading activity, the oil and silver contracts currently far outpace the SOL and XRP perpetual contracts, which have trading volumes of $176 million and $31 million respectively. For context, XRP and SOL both have multi-billion dollar market capitalizations and are among the largest cryptocurrencies in the world.
The trend comes as commodities have become highly volatile as the ongoing conflict with Iran disrupts crude supplies in the strategic Strait of Hormuz – a key chokepoint through which about 20% of the world’s oil is shipped. It highlights that Hyperliquid has become the go-to platform for commodity price discovery, especially on weekends when traditional markets are closed.
Brent and WTI crude oil prices surged more than 45% this month, a common return among memecoins. The rise pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel, triggered a global inflation shock and renewed attention to the commodity amid heightened geopolitical and market risks.
This uncertainty shows no signs of abating, suggesting that Hyperliquid’s energy markets may continue to see significant activity and potentially challenge the dominance of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Perpetual contracts related to these two tokens remain the exchange’s most traded, with 24-hour trading volumes of $1.94 billion and $990 million respectively.
Iran said earlier on Monday it would “completely close” the Strait of Hormuz immediately if the United States follows up on President Donald Trump’s threat to attack its power plants.
The stark warning came after Trump said the United States would cancel Iran’s power plans if Tehran failed to fully allow oil tankers to pass through the strait within 48 hours.
Meanwhile, analysts at investment banking giant Goldman Sachs raised their oil price forecasts amid ongoing supply disruptions.
They now expect Brent crude prices to average $100 a barrel from March to April, up from their previous forecast of $98, implying a premium of about 62% to their full-year 2025 forecast. The bank also raised its Brent crude oil price average to $85 a barrel for all of 2026, while maintaining a strong average price of $80 for 2027.
