Phemex, a cryptocurrency exchange, reported that trading volume for crude oil perpetual futures on its TradFi (Traditional Finance) platform surged over 300% week-over-week. This dramatic increase was triggered by the announcement of a US-Iran ceasefire, which caused the largest single-day oil price swing since the 1991 Gulf War.
The exchange's TradFi platform offers WTI (XTI) and Brent crude oil (XBR) perpetual futures, which are settled in USDT and available for trading 24/7 with no expiry dates. This structure allowed crypto traders to react to the geopolitical news in real-time, even while traditional commodity markets were closed.
During the crisis week, weekly crude oil trading volume on Phemex TradFi exceeded $300 million. The asset's share of the platform's total TradFi volume quadrupled, rising from approximately 3% to 12%. On April 7, daily crude oil volume hit an all-time high of $85 million, representing a 4.6x spike, as WTI crude oil prices plunged over 15% within hours of the ceasefire news.
More than 8,000 unique traders participated in oil contracts over the past week, with single-day active users surpassing 2,000 for the first time.
"Crude oil has gone from a niche offering to one of our fastest-growing asset classes virtually overnight," said Federico Variola, CEO of Phemex. "When WTI dropped $12 after hours on the ceasefire announcement, traditional commodity exchanges were closed. Our traders didn't have to wait, they were already positioned and capturing the move in real time."
The event underscores a broader industry trend. As cross-asset volatility becomes increasingly driven by real-time geopolitical developments, demand for continuous, crypto-native market access is growing. Phemex stated it will continue expanding its TradFi offering to enable traders to respond to global events with greater speed and flexibility.
