Middle East Geopolitical Escalation Drives Explosive Surge in On-Chain Crude Oil Trading Data

BlockBeats News, March 12th, OKX Ventures posted data on social media indicating that the escalation of the Middle East geopolitical conflict has driven a surge in on-chain crude oil trading data. On Hyperliquid, the 24-hour trading volume of the CL-USDC perpetual contract tracking WTI crude oil price skyrocketed from a pre-crisis daily average of $21 million to $1.2 billion to $1.99 billion. At its peak, the crude oil trading volume even surpassed Ethereum (ETH), becoming the second-largest asset by volume on the network.

The trading volume on centralized exchanges (CEX) also saw a significant increase. According to Gate's data, the 24-hour trading volume of its Brent crude oil (XBR) contract surged by 951%, while the trading volume of WTI crude oil (XTI) contracts also jumped by nearly 397%.

Capital inflows and open interest (OI) data show a large influx of institutional and retail funds into the market. The crude oil OI on Hyperliquid currently remains stable between $183 million and $290 million, indicating that funds are not only engaging in ultra-short-term speculation but also building long-term macro hedging positions.

The total open interest (OI) in Hyperliquid's HIP-3 market (supporting the permissionless listing of traditional financial assets) has recently surpassed $1.2 billion, reaching a historic high.