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

marsbitPublicado a 2026-03-04Actualizado a 2026-03-04

Resumen

Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise, argues that the migration of traditional finance to on-chain systems is inevitable and has been dramatically accelerated by a recent geopolitical event. While he previously believed this transition would take 5-10 years, starting at the edges of finance, a weekend attack on Iran proved him wrong. On Sunday, February 28th, when most global markets (stocks, futures, forex) were closed, a major geopolitical shock occurred. With traditional venues unavailable, investors turned to the always-open, global crypto infrastructure. The decentralized exchange Hyperliquid became a central hub, with its trading volume surging and its oil futures contract prices being cited by Bloomberg as a key market reference. Its native token, HYPE, rose ~30%. Other on-chain assets like Tether's gold token (XAUT) and prediction markets also saw record volumes. Hougan concludes that this event was a watershed moment, proving that crypto markets can function as the primary market during global crises. For any competitive investor, bank, or fund, engaging with on-chain tools like stablecoin wallets, Hyperliquid, and tokenized assets is now a necessity. The biggest barrier to entry—learning these new systems—is being overcome, and this initial contact will lead to further exploration and adoption. He dismisses the idea that traditional markets can simply extend their hours to compete, comparing it to legacy companies dismissing disruptive technologies like Netflix or the iPho...

Author: Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise

Compiled by: Luffy, Foresight News

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 cost far lower than 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 It makes traditional stock exchanges and T+1 settlement seem incredibly outdated.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 a complete systemic change?

After all, most people don't even notice the delays in the current 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, no fuss.

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, like 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 expected.

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 Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other Middle Eastern countries (which operate on a Sunday-to-Thursday schedule), but these markets are limited in size and coverage, with little participation from Western investors and a narrow range of 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 Sunday when U.S. futures opened to see the market's reaction. But this weekend showed us: they now have another choice, turning to the 24/7, globally-trading crypto infrastructure.

And this weekend, they did just that.

Throughout Sunday, on-chain finance became the core of global finance. The decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, in particular, was 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 relevant 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 for XAUT, the gold token issued by Tether, soared to over $300 million in 24 hours. Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket hit record trading volumes. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other crypto assets were also in the spotlight.

In my memory, this is the first time the cryptocurrency market truly functioned as a "market" in the real sense.

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 set up 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're comfortable, all the new capabilities of DeFi and on-chain finance are right at your fingertips. Exposure leads to exploration, 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 much sooner than any of us imagined.

Preguntas relacionadas

QWhat event over the weekend does the author believe accelerated the migration of the financial world on-chain?

AThe author believes the announcement of a military strike against Iran by the U.S. on a Sunday, when nearly all traditional global financial markets were closed, accelerated the migration. This event forced investors to use the 24/7 crypto infrastructure to trade.

QAccording to the author, which on-chain exchange became a focal point for global finance during this event and why?

AThe decentralized exchange Hyperliquid became the focal point. It offers perpetual contracts for both crypto assets and real-world assets like crude oil. Its trading volume surged so significantly that Bloomberg cited its crude oil contract price as the most relevant reference.

QWhat is the author's main argument for why the shift to on-chain finance is inevitable?

AThe author argues that blockchain technology offers superior advantages, including 24/7, year-round trading, instant settlement, and significantly lower costs compared to traditional systems like the T+1 settlement, making the shift inevitable.

QWhat was the author's original prediction for the timeline of the financial industry's shift to on-chain systems, and how did the weekend event change it?

AThe author originally predicted it would be a slow process over 5 to 10 years, starting at the edges of finance with crypto-native users before gradually taking over the core. The weekend proved him wrong, making him certain the shift will happen much faster than anyone expected.

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

AThe author states that to remain competitive, investors and institutions must engage with on-chain tools like stablecoin wallets, Hyperliquid, and tokenized stocks because if they don't, their competitors will, gaining an advantage by accessing 24/7 global markets during critical events.

Lecturas Relacionadas

Stuck Polymarket: The Real Test After Riding the Traffic Boom Has Arrived

Polymarket, a leading prediction market platform, is facing significant technical challenges as its growth outpaces its current infrastructure on Polygon. Users are experiencing laggy transactions, unresponsive orders, and delayed confirmations, severely impacting the trading experience. In response, DeFi Engineering VP Josh Stevens outlined a comprehensive engineering overhaul. The plan includes reducing on-chain data delays, fixing order cancellation issues, rebuilding the central limit order book (CLOB), improving website performance, and developing a unified SDK and API. A major revelation was the ongoing "chain migration," indicating a potential move away from Polygon. The core issue is that Polymarket has evolved from a simple prediction market into a high-frequency trading platform, making Polygon's limitations—such as block space, gas fees, and block time—a ceiling for further growth. The migration is not just a simple chain switch but a fundamental rebuild of its trading system to support more complex products like perpetual contracts (Perps). This announcement has sparked competition among chains like Solana, Sui, and Algorand, all vying to host Polymarket. For Polygon, losing this key application, which contributes significantly to its gas fee revenue, would be a major setback. The real test for Polymarket is no longer attracting users but proving it can provide a stable, reliable trading environment that retains them.

Odaily星球日报Hace 59 min(s)

Stuck Polymarket: The Real Test After Riding the Traffic Boom Has Arrived

Odaily星球日报Hace 59 min(s)

Lowering Expectations for BTC's Next Bull Market

The author, Alex Xu, explains his decision to significantly reduce his Bitcoin holdings (from full to ~30% of his portfolio) during the current bull cycle, citing a lowered long-term outlook for BTC's price appreciation in the next cycle. He outlines six key reasons for this reduced expectation: 1. **Diminished Growth Drivers:** The narrative of exponential user adoption has largely played out with institutional ETF adoption. The next major growth phase—adoption by sovereign national reserves or central banks—seems unlikely in the near future. 2. **Personal Opportunity Cost:** More attractive investment opportunities have emerged in other assets, such as undervalued companies. 3. **Industry-Wide Contraction:** The broader crypto industry is struggling, with most Web3 business models (SocialFi, GameFi, DePIN) failing. This overall萧条 (depression) reduces the fundamental demand and consensus for Bitcoin. 4. **Strain on Major Buyer:** MicroStrategy, a major corporate buyer of BTC, faces rising financing expenses for its debt, which could slow its purchasing rate and create significant marginal pressure on the market. 5. **Increased Competition from Gold:** The emergence of "tokenized gold" has closed the functional gap (portability, divisibility) between physical gold and Bitcoin, offering a strong competitor in the non-sovereign store-of-value space. 6. **Security Budget Concerns:** The block reward halving continues to exacerbate the long-standing issue of funding Bitcoin's network security, with new fee source explorations like Ordinals and L2s largely failing. The author's decision to hold a significant (though reduced) position reflects a cautious, not bearish, outlook. He remains open to increasing his exposure if the fundamental reasons for his skepticism change or if new positive catalysts emerge.

marsbitHace 1 hora(s)

Lowering Expectations for BTC's Next Bull Market

marsbitHace 1 hora(s)

Trading

Spot
Futuros
活动图片