Hyperliquid captured the macro trade this weekend.
Perpetual futures tied to oil on the decentralised exchange jumped nearly 20% after US and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
USOIL, a token tied to crude oil, surged to as high as $97 on Sunday while OIL advanced to $76, with the two derivatives contracts paired with Hyperliquid’s native USDH stablecoin generating nearly $17 million in trading volume.
Iran’s retaliation against its Gulf neighbours revived concerns about supply disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime chokepoint through which more than $500 billion worth of oil and gas flows annually.
Gold climbed back over $5,400 per ounce with Hyperliquid recording $148 million in trading volume. Tether Gold and Paxos Gold also jumped as investors sought safety.
Hyperliquid’s HYPE token also surged over 20% to $32 on Monday.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s price is hovering just above $65,000, down more than 20% over the past month. It is still down nearly 50% from its October peak of $126,000.
“This is the power of tokenised assets and perpetuals built on crypto infrastructure,” Kenny Chan, Coinbase’s head of Stablecoin Ecosystem, said.
Paradigm shift
The contrast marks a major shift in how geopolitical events are traded.
“For years, whenever a major geo event hit over the weekend, Bitcoin was the only choice available to traders,” Chan said.
Bitcoin had long been the asset of choice thanks to its ability to be traded at all hours and infrequent correlation to risk-off assets, Chan said
“This weekend was different,” he added.
“Traders didn’t need to route through Bitcoin anymore. They went straight to the source on Hyperliquid: perpetual futures tied to oil, gold, and silver — the assets that you actually want to take a view on.”
Bitcoin forgotten?
Bitcoin has long been marketed as digital gold, or a hedge against currency debasement and systemic risk. At times, it has even shown fleeting correlation with bullion, reinforcing the narrative that it could serve as a refuge during macro stress.
That thesis is now under strain.
Since a severe crypto liquidation event in October triggered the largest market unwind in the asset class’s history, Bitcoin has struggled to regain momentum despite other asset classes, like stocks, pushing new highs.
Gold, by contrast, has extended its rally into 2026, reaching fresh peaks amid geopolitical uncertainty, driving demand for traditional havens.
“Nothing upends the economic game board like a sudden war few had in their bingo cards a week ago,” Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, said.
Crypto market movers
Bitcoin is down 0.2% over the past 24 hours, trading at $66,476.
Ethereum is down 1.6% past 24 hours at $1,961.
What we’re reading
Russian pyramid scheme operators have turned to crypto en masse, warns Moscow — DL News
Circle’s breakout year sets up 129% upside to $190 per share, Bernstein says— DL News
Meta Eyes Stablecoin Return, This Time at Arm’s Length — Unchained
Has Bitcoin Lost Its “Digital Gold” Status for Good? w/ Ran Neuner — Milk Road
Tokenised gold continues rally while Bitcoin slides on US attack against Iran — DL News
