Gold, silver and oil drive 65,000% jump in commodity perpetuals

BitMEX said commodity perpetual swaps volume jumped from $38.1 million to $25 billion in Q1 as traders flocked to 24/7 gold, silver and oil exposure.

BitMEX said in a Thursday report that commodity perpetual swaps were the fastest-growing segment of TradFi perps in the first quarter of 2026, with weekly volume rising 65,463% from $38.1 million to $25.0 billion.

The report said silver, crude oil and gold drove most of that growth. By the week of March 15, Silver (XAG) accounted for 34.8% of the market share of tokenized commodities, followed by crude oil (CL) for 27.7%, gold (XAU) at 27.5% and Silver on Hyperliquid for 6%, according to a Thursday report.

BitMEX said the March entry of crude oil added a new leg to the market, attributing that move to Iran-related geopolitical tensions and broader demand for 24/7 commodity exposure on crypto-native venues.

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