BitMEX reported that commodity-linked perpetual swaps became the fastest-growing segment within TradFi-style crypto derivatives in the first quarter of 2026, with weekly trading volume surging from $38.1 million to $25 billion, representing a 65,463% increase.

The expansion was largely driven by trading activity in silver, crude oil and gold. By mid-March, silver contracts accounted for 34.8% of tokenized commodity market share, followed by crude oil at 27.7% and gold at 27.5%, with additional activity recorded on platforms such as Hyperliquid.

BitMEX attributed part of this growth to the introduction of crude oil contracts in March, which coincided with heightened geopolitical tensions involving Iran and rising demand for continuous, around-the-clock exposure to commodities on crypto-native platforms.

Geopolitical volatility fuels demand for 24/7 trading

Energy markets played a significant role in driving interest in these instruments. Brent crude oil has increased by roughly 44% since late February, rising from around $69 to above $99, with prices briefly peaking near $114 during the period.

According to BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz, onchain perpetual products are enabling traders to respond to global developments outside traditional market hours. “speculate and hedge against weekend geopolitical events like the recent Iran conflict, in real time,” he said. He added that while perpetual swaps are likely to continue gaining traction due to their 24/7 accessibility, tokenizing physical commodities remains more complex due to regulatory and legal constraints.

Lutz also suggested that onchain derivatives could continue to take market share from traditional venues unless established players such as Chicago Mercantile Exchange adopt continuous trading models.

Competition intensifies as market evolves

Despite strong growth in derivatives, the broader tokenized commodities market has seen a slight decline. Data from RWA.xyz shows total market capitalization fell by 2.7% over the past 30 days to approximately $7.34 billion.

At the same time, competition among exchanges is increasing. Binance introduced gold and silver perpetual contracts earlier this year, expanding its offering of tokenized commodity and equity products. Its silver contract recorded an average daily trading volume of $1.31 billion during the quarter.

BitMEX, which introduced the first perpetual swap product in 2016, now provides more than 20 TradFi-linked contracts, reflecting the growing convergence between traditional financial instruments and crypto-based trading infrastructure.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/gold-silver-oil-drive-65000-percent-jump-in-commodity-perpetuals

https://www.bitmex.com/blog/2026q1-derivatives-report

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/crude-oil

https://rwa.xyz/