Bitwise Investment Director (CIO) Matt Hougan said over the weekend that the US military attack on Iran has brought crypto and onchain markets to the center of global price discovery.
In his note titled “The Weekend That Changed Finance,” Hougan stated that President Donald Trump’s announcement of the attack at 2:30 a.m. on February 28th highlighted the limitations of traditional markets.
According to Hougan, onchain systems became the center of the financial world throughout Sunday. With US stock and futures markets, currency markets, and most European and Asian stock exchanges closed, investors turned to crypto-based platforms that were open 24/7.
During this period, trading volumes on the decentralized derivatives platform Hyperliquid increased significantly, particularly in perpetual futures contracts based on crypto assets and real-world assets such as crude oil.
Tether’s tokenized gold product, XAUT, reached a trading volume of over $300 million in 24 hours. The prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket also saw record volumes. Bitcoin and Ethereum prices also attracted significant attention.
Hougan argued that this development accelerated the rise of onchain finance, stating that all competitive players, including hedge funds and banks, now have to step into this space, from setting up stablecoin wallets to learning about tokenized assets. “It’s no longer a choice,” Hougan emphasized, stressing that otherwise, they would fall behind the market.
*This is not investment advice.