Hyperliquid oil perps surge; $36.9M in shorts liquidated

Oil’s rapid rally reshaped trading on crypto derivatives venue Hyperliquid. The exchange’s tokenized West Texas Intermediate crude perpetuals booked more than $1.2 billion in daily volume, while open interest climbed above $169 million. During a March 9 spike that took crude up more than 30% to nearly $120 a barrel, short positions on Hyperliquid saw $36.9 million in liquidations over 12 hours, compared with $2.1 million for longs.

Hyperliquid’s CL-USDC contract, which references WTI benchmarks and settles in stablecoins on-chain, has become the platform’s second-most active market after Bitcoin. The product gives crypto traders exposure to oil price moves without using traditional commodities venues.

Liquidations mounted as prices swung. The largest single event tied to the March 9 jump hit an account holding 72,178 short CL contracts worth about $7.7 million; the position was fully closed. Two other seven-figure short bets were liquidated near the intraday peak close to $120. Another account that began shorting in the $70s was wiped out when crude reached $108 that morning.

An address labeled Oil Bear on Hyperliquid’s leaderboard has taken on repeated, large leveraged wagers in the oil market. Losses have not been limited to bears. On March 11, when crude briefly slipped below $87, one account was liquidated for about $6 million.

At publication time, Hyperliquid’s trailing 24-hour oil volume remained above $1.2 billion and open interest on CL-USDC stayed over $169 million, marking a swift rise for a market listed only weeks earlier.

Other crypto derivatives venues moved to offer oil exposure during the rally. Aster, a perpetuals exchange on BNB Chain, listed a CL-USDT crude oil contract on March 2 and ran a $10,000 oil trading contest. Binance Wallet added its own CL-USDT oil perpetual on March 7 with zero maker fees and promotional airdrop points.

The buildout came during a volatile stretch for energy prices. Crude traded as high as $120 per barrel as recently as Monday before pulling back to $95.57, leaving it up 66% for the year. The run has coincided with geopolitical tensions involving Iran.

On-chain perpetuals support high leverage and instant execution, which can accelerate forced unwinds when prices move quickly. The March 9 rally concentrated losses among aggressive shorts, while subsequent declines triggered liquidations for leveraged longs.