Oil volatility triggered by the Iran conflict is pushing traders onto decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like Hyperliquid, where markets never close, Wall Street investment bank JPMorgan said in a Wednesday report.
The bank flagged a surge in activity from non-crypto investors using perpetual futures, derivatives with no expiry, to gain round-the-clock oil exposure. Unlike traditional venues, these contracts trade 24/7 and use funding rates to track spot prices.
"In particular, oil trading exploded on the Hyperliquid exchange early this month when the Iran war erupted as CME traders were unable to react when Iranian infrastructure strikes broke over the weekend," wrote analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou.
Market volatility spiked following the outbreak of war in the Middle East, with oil prices leading sharp moves as traders reacted to supply risks and geopolitical uncertainty. The initial shock was amplified by thin liquidity outside traditional trading hours, driving wider price swings and pushing investors toward venues offering continuous, 24/7 market access.
A decentralized exchange (DEX) is a peer-to-peer marketplace where users trade crypto directly without intermediaries. Unlike centralized exchanges, DEXs are non-custodial, meaning users retain control over their private keys and funds.
Rather than relying on a central operator, DEXs use smart contracts to automatically execute trades and settle them onchain. These trustless systems are a fast-growing part of the crypto market and are driving new types of financial products.
With CME markets shut over the weekend, traders turned to Hyperliquid’s CL-USDC perpetual, which stayed open for price discovery. The contract, margined in USDC with up to 20x leverage, hit $1.7 billion in peak daily volume and is now the platform’s third-most traded product, the bank said. Open interest has climbed to about $300 million.
More broadly, the analysts said demand for 24/7 access to traditional assets is accelerating interest in DEXs. Platforms like Hyperliquid use onchain order books rather than automated market makers, offering tighter spreads and more precise execution closer to traditional markets.
Features such as sub-second finality and portfolio margining are further attracting institutional traders by enabling faster execution and more capital-efficient strategies.
As a result, DEXs are taking share from mid-tier centralized exchanges in crypto derivatives, driven by speed, liquidity, self-custody and continuous market access, according to the analysts.
The trend is likely to expand beyond commodities as DEXs capitalize on a key gap in traditional finance: markets that don’t close, the report added.
Hyperliquid's HYPE token is up roughly 25% year-to-date, outperforming much of the broader crypto market.
Read more: Iranian crypto outflows jump 700% minutes after U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, Elliptic says
