Oil volatility triggered by the Iran conflict is pushing traders to decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like Hyperliquid, where markets never close, Wall Street investment bank JPMorgan said in a Wednesday report.
The bank flagged an increase in activity from non-crypto investors using perpetual futures, derivatives with no expiration, to gain around-the-clock oil exposure. Unlike traditional venues, these contracts trade 24/7 and use funding rates to track spot prices.
“In particular, oil trading on the Hyperliquid exchange exploded at the beginning of this month when the Iran war broke out, as CME traders were unable to react when Iranian infrastructure attacks broke out over the weekend,” wrote analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou.
Market volatility rose after the outbreak of war in the Middle East, which saw oil prices move sharply as traders reacted to supply risks and geopolitical uncertainty. The initial shock was compounded by thin liquidity outside of traditional trading hours, which drove wider price swings and pushed investors toward venues that offer 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 of their private keys and money.
Instead of relying on a central operator, DEXs use smart contracts to automatically execute trades and settle them onchain. These trustless systems are a rapidly growing part of the crypto market and are driving new types of financial products.
With CME markets closed for the weekend, traders turned to Hyperliquid’s CL-USDC perpetual, which remained 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 risen 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 accurate execution closer to traditional markets.
Features such as sub-second finality and portfolio margining further attract institutional traders by enabling faster execution and more capital efficient strategies.
As a result, DEXs are taking share from mid-level centralized exchanges in crypto derivatives, driven by speed, liquidity, self-storage and continuous market access, according to the analysts.
The trend is likely to expand beyond commodities as DEXs exploit a key gap in traditional finance: non-closing markets, the report added.
Hyperliquid’s HYPE token is up about 25% year-to-date, outperforming much of the broader crypto market.
Read more: Iranian Crypto Outflows Jump 700% Minutes After US-Israeli Airstrikes, Elliptic Says
