For decades, the oil market has developed according to a very familiar and very predictable schedule. The biggest signals came from old futures locations; traders knew where the deepest sources of liquidity were and when they would come to life.
But like almost everything else, oil has not been immune to the hunger of the modern market.
Its rhythm began to break as the war pushed the energy onto a very different kind of schedule.
The headlines are now arriving at unexpected hours, risks are increasing over the weekend and an announcement from Washington could trigger a huge rally before the stock markets reopen.
As those gaps continued to widen, crypto companies saw an opportunity that was too good to miss: 24/7 oil trading.
Although this has been in the works for a while, it was Wintermute’s new 24/7 WTF CFD crude oil offering that pushed this into the mainstream. On the surface, this may seem like yet another product launch, another major company expanding its menu. But compared to the past few months, it looks like a land grab.
Wintermute is the latest of many companies trying to grab a slice of the oil market, which has become much more valuable than it was just a few months ago. Geopolitical risks don’t like business hours, and traders want immediate oil exposure. That’s why it is product will allow users to post both fiat and crypto as collateral and trade via OTC channels 24 hours a day.
Legacy locations are too far away and too slow to meet the type of demand currently coming from the market.
On March 24, traders placed more than $500 million in rough bets just before President Donald Trump announced the US would delay attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure. The market turned hard, with Brent falling from around $112 to $99, while WTI fell from around $99 to $86. But despite this drop, oil prices were still more than 40% above pre-Iran levels, giving an idea of how sharply the Middle East crisis has changed the market.
When price movements begin on that type of schedule, traders will naturally look for a location that is already open.
Where will oil risk go first?
That search has already yielded one of the most interesting stories of the year.
Earlier in March, an oil-linked perpetual contract on Hyperliquid generated more than $1.2 billion in 24-hour volume, enough to become the platform’s second most traded market. The rise came after a jump in oil futures amid the escalation in Iran. Just a few days earlier, oil, gold and silver contracts on Hyperliquid rose so much over the weekend that they began to act as a live signal for how those markets might react once trading resumed on Monday.
Having an oil-linked perpetrator on Hyperliquid turning over $1.2 billion in 24 hours means this isn’t a niche crypto experiment. We already have oil-related products, so companies are now racing to be the first to quell this insatiable appetite for oil risk, while traders in London, Singapore, Dubai or New York want to react immediately and refuse to wait for the next regular session.
Hyperliquid showed us what one model for that future could look like. The product is very open, highly visible and built around perpetuals that make price discovery a spectacle. The path that Wintermute has taken is more tailor-made. It is dealer-run and is more suitable for customers who want customized access through OTC channels, rather than through a public location.
While the style may be different, the goal is the same: both want the trader who now views oil as a 24/7 macro asset.
This split deserves attention because it indicates where this market may be heading. One version is crypto-native and audience-oriented, shaped by crowds, influence and speed. The other version is more institutional in tone and closer to the traditions of dealer markets, even though it relies on always-on crypto trading.
Both will most likely grow at the same time, with one becoming the noisy front of after-hours oil speculation, and the other becoming the smoother route for institutions seeking fame without theatrics.
The bigger push towards all-hour markets
This is also why the Wintermute promotion fits into something broader than raw materials.
The financial sector as a whole is moving towards longer trading days and tokenized formats across multiple asset classes.
Last week, the SEC approved a Nasdaq proposal that would allow certain stocks to be traded and settled in tokenized form. The New York Stock Exchange is working with Securitize on a tokenized securities platform. DTCC has said that NSCC plans to switch to 24×5 operations by the end of June, if approved. Nasdaq has said it plans to introduce 24-hour trading on its main US exchange in the second half of 2026. CME Group said in February it would launch 24/7 cryptocurrency futures and options trading on May 29.
These are tectonic movements that will change the entire market. Investors are slowly being trained to expect access to trading at all times, and crypto companies have now made that expectation a reality. Legacy financial companies are now rushing to catch up, each offering a similar product. The result of these efforts will be that trading during business hours will no longer be the norm, but will become a preference.
Oil gives that transition extra strength because oil has always belonged to the heavyweight side of macro. It is an incredible asset because it involves inflation risk, war bounties, shipping lanes, refinery economics and state budgets. It carries with it a seriousness that no crypto asset, not even Bitcoin, has managed to capture.
So when an oil-linked contract becomes a breakthrough product on a crypto platform, the signal goes beyond mere novelty. It tells us that crypto has found a way to insert itself into one of the most consequential conversations in the global markets.
However, the path ahead is anything but smooth.
Longer-term trading comes with familiar concerns about lower liquidity, wider spreads and early price moves that can overstate conviction. Owned by DTCC materials on the move to 24×5 said there would be structural implications for everything from liquidity and resilience to risk management. Banks have naturally raised concerns about investor protection, costs, volatility and liquidity in near-continuous markets.
Yet the direction is becoming increasingly visible.
On March 18, S&P Dow Jones Indices said it licensed the S&P 500 for trading[XYZ] perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid, saying it is the first officially licensed S&P 500 perpetual built for 24/7 trading on a decentralized platform.
Although the announcement focused on stocks, it had a much deeper meaning. Benchmark owners, exchanges, clearing operators and crypto venues are all starting to build a market that stretches into the night.
That brings the story back to oil, and to the commercial price that is now taking shape around it. In a year defined by conflict in the Middle East, there is great value in being the first location traders to go public when the headlines appear after dinner in New York or before dawn in London.
Hyperliquid was there early with a product that became a magnet for speculation and hedging. Wintermute comes with a different structure and a different customer base. Others will almost certainly follow.
The race now is to turn the after-hours demand into a sustainable franchise and become the place where merchants do more than just quickly check the price. Over time, all of these platforms want to feel like part of the ‘real’ oil market, rather than a side arena for enthusiasts.
For a long time, oil opened and closed with the institutions that determined global finance. Although that world is still dominant and still sets the benchmark, the first response to the next geopolitical shock will most likely not take place there. The fastest moves will most likely come from perpetuals in crypto venues, built by a market that has always seen business hours as a competitive weakness.