Bitwise: A Weekend Attack Accelerates the On-Chain Migration of the Entire Financial World

比推Publicado a 2026-03-04Actualizado a 2026-03-04

Resumen

The author, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, argues that a weekend geopolitical event—an announcement of a U.S. strike against Iran—accelerated the inevitable migration of global finance onto blockchain infrastructure. While traditional markets (stocks, futures, forex) were closed, decentralized platforms like Hyperliquid, which offers perpetual contracts for crypto and real-world assets like oil, saw massive trading volume spikes. Hyperliquid’s oil contract prices were even cited by Bloomberg as a key market reference. Additionally, Tether’s gold token XAUT and prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket hit record volumes. This event demonstrated that crypto markets now function as a true, 24/7 global market during off-hours when traditional finance is inactive. The author concludes that this shift is now unavoidable and will happen faster than anticipated, forcing traditional investors, banks, and funds to adopt crypto wallets, stablecoins, and DeFi platforms to remain competitive.

Author: Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise

Compiled by: Luffy, Foresight News

Original title: Bitwise: A Weekend Attack Accelerates the On-Chain Migration of the Entire Financial World

I have always believed that the migration of the financial industry to on-chain is inevitable.

Blockchain enables assets to be traded 24/7, 365 days a year, with instant settlement at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems. It makes traditional stock exchanges and T+1 settlement seem incredibly outdated.

But I've always wondered: When exactly will this transition happen? And what event will catalyze the system's complete transformation?

After all, most people don't feel the delay of the existing system. When my uncle buys a stock in his Charles Schwab account, he doesn't care that it takes a day to settle, nor does he care about the complex processes involving mysterious institutions like the NSCC, DTCC, and Cede & Co. He buys, the stock appears in his account, simple and straightforward, without a hitch.

So I once thought that crypto-driven markets would grow on the fringes first. Over the next 5 to 10 years, they would primarily serve crypto-native users and those who don't fit perfectly into the traditional financial system, such as global retail investors wanting to trade U.S. stocks. Eventually, these systems would become good enough to gradually take over the existing system, and institutions like the NYSE would transition to tokenized markets, much like they moved from floor trading to electronic trading.

It would be a classic tech story: disrupt the edges first, then take over the core. I thought this would take 5 to 10 years.

But this weekend proved me wrong. I am now convinced that this will happen much faster than anyone anticipated.

What Happened This Weekend

At 2:30 AM ET on Sunday, February 28th, Trump announced an attack on Iran. This timing was particularly unique for global financial markets, as almost all markets were closed.

U.S. stock markets were closed
U.S. futures markets were closed
Major foreign exchange markets were closed
European markets were closed
Asian markets were closed

Essentially, the only markets still trading were those in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia and Qatar (which operate on a Sunday-to-Thursday schedule), but these markets are limited in size and coverage, with little participation from Western investors and covering few assets.

In the past, if a major geopolitical shock occurred on a Sunday morning, investors would have had to wait until 6:00 PM ET when U.S. futures opened to see how the market reacted. But this weekend showed us: they now have another choice, turning to the 24/7, globally traded crypto infrastructure.

And this weekend, they actually did it.

Throughout Sunday, on-chain finance became the core of global finance. The decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, in particular, became the focal point. It offers perpetual contracts for crypto assets as well as real-world assets like crude oil.

Hyperliquid's trading volume surged so much that Bloomberg, in its coverage of the airstrike's impact on oil, directly quoted the price of the crude oil contract on Hyperliquid—it was the most reference-worthy price. This was no coincidence; Hyperliquid's native token HYPE rose about 30% over the weekend. In my view, this is more like investors paying upfront for its future.

But it wasn't just Hyperliquid. The trading volume of Tether's gold token XAUT surged to over $300 million in 24 hours. Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket hit record trading volumes. Crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum also came into focus.

In my memory, this is the first time the cryptocurrency market has truly become "the market."

Why This Matters

If you are a hedge fund, a bank, or any investor who wants to remain competitive, you now have no choice: you must open a stablecoin wallet, you must learn to trade on Hyperliquid, you must understand XAUT, you must research tokenized stocks.

Because even if you don't, others will.

This trend will accelerate. The biggest barrier to participating in on-chain markets is getting used to tools like wallets, stablecoins, Hyperliquid, and Uniswap. Once you get the hang of it, all the new capabilities of DeFi and on-chain finance are within reach. Exposure leads to exploration, and exploration leads to trading.

Of course, some will surely say: Traditional markets can do this too! Nasdaq is moving towards 23-hour trading, 5 days a week! We don't offer 24/7 trading because no one needs it!

Fine, whatever. Blockbuster said the same thing about Netflix. Microsoft said the same thing about the iPhone.

The shift to on-chain finance is inevitable. And after this weekend, I am convinced: its arrival will be sooner than any of us imagined.

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Original link:https://www.bitpush.news/articles/7616564

Preguntas relacionadas

QWhat event over the weekend accelerated the shift of the financial world to on-chain systems according to the Bitwise CIO?

AThe announcement of a military strike by the U.S. against Iran in the early hours of a Sunday, when traditional global financial markets were closed, accelerated the shift. Investors turned to 24/7 operational crypto infrastructure like Hyperliquid for trading.

QWhich on-chain platform saw a significant surge in trading volume and was cited by Bloomberg for oil price references during the weekend event?

AHyperliquid, a decentralized exchange offering perpetual contracts for crypto assets and real-world assets like crude oil, saw a massive surge in volume. Bloomberg cited its oil contract prices as the most relevant reference.

QWhat was the author's original timeline for the financial industry's transition to on-chain systems, and how did the weekend event change that view?

AThe author originally believed the transition would be a slow process over 5 to 10 years, starting at the edges of finance. The weekend event proved this shift will happen much faster than anyone anticipated.

QWhy does the author argue that traditional investors and institutions now have no choice but to engage with on-chain finance?

ABecause if they don't, their competitors will. The ability to trade 24/7 during major geopolitical events outside traditional market hours provides a significant competitive advantage that cannot be ignored.

QWhat specific on-chain asset representing gold saw its 24-hour trading volume surge to over $300 million during this event?

AXAUT, a gold-backed token issued by Tether, saw its 24-hour trading volume surge to over $300 million during the event.

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