{"id":7182,"date":"2026-03-04T07:43:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T07:43:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=7182"},"modified":"2026-03-04T07:43:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T07:43:40","slug":"the-weekend-that-proved-onchain-markets-are-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=7182","title":{"rendered":"The Weekend That Proved Onchain Markets Are the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

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  • Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said investors without access to traditional stock markets instead turned to crypto markets to trade the news of President Donald Trump\u2019s announcement of \u201cmajor combat operations\u201d in Iran on Sunday (US time).<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Hougan describes the situation as \u201cthe weekend that changed finance\u201d due to 24\/7 crypto rails proving their worth for investors looking to react in real-time. He argued onchain finance systems change will happen more urgently as a result.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    An American military strike on Iran that began in the early hours of Sunday morning, US time, has shocked the world and raised concerns over heightened and prolonged geopolitical chaos in the region. But Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan has found a silver lining \u2014 crypto markets saw more action.<\/p>\n

    The timing of the beginning of Trump\u2019s war on Iran \u2014 when traditional finance markets were closed \u2014 resulted in crypto\u2019s 24\/7\/365 trading accessibility coming into the spotlight and signalling an \u201cinevitable\u201d shift to onchain finance, Hougan said in a blog published March 3.<\/p>\n

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    For most of Sunday, onchain finance was the center of the financial world.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n Matt Hougan, Bitwise CIO <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Hougan argues that the embrace of blockchain in finance has received an incredible boost thanks to investors being able to turn to crypto-based rails on Sunday, despite US and major FX, European and Asian markets being closed.<\/p>\n

    Related: Crypto Exodus: Iranian Exchange Sees 700% Outflow Spike After U.S.-Israeli Airstrikes<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Hyperliquid, XAUT & Prediction Market Trading Spikes Reveals Crypto\u2019s Value: Hougan\u00a0<\/h2>\n

    Hougan cites the fact that a Bloomberg markets newsletter reportedly mentioned that the price of oil-linked perpetual futures being traded on Hyperliquid rose more than 4% \u2014 in lieu of having TradFi market price action to report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \u201cNot coincidentally, Hyperliquid\u2019s native token, HYPE, was up about 30% over the weekend. My read: That\u2019s likely a down payment from investors on where Hyperliquid is going,\u201d Hougan said.<\/p>\n

    Hougan also highlighted the performance of other crypto assets, such as:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Tether\u2019s tokenised gold stablecoin XAUT achieving a 24-hour trading volume of over US$300 million.<\/li>\n
    • Crypto betting sites Kalshi and Polymarket setting new volume records.<\/li>\n
    • OG coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum being \u201cin focus\u201d.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      \u201cIt was the first time I remember crypto-enabled markets being \u201cthe market,\u201d full stop,\u201d Hougan said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

      Hougan failed to mention that while betting markets tied to US strikes on Iran helped drive trading activity on so-called \u2018prediction\u2019 marketplaces \u2014 it also resulted in significant ethical scrutiny and backlash from traders.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

      Bets placed in relation to the removal of Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were flagged for potential insider trading, as well as being legally and morally questionable. Kalshi reimbursed traders for Khamenei-related bets at the \u201clast-traded price before his death\u201d rather than settle winnings \u2014 a move that caused heavy backlash from traders.<\/p>\n

      Related: Kalshi Faces Backlash After $50M Market on Khamenei\u2019s Death Sparks Rule Dispute<\/strong><\/p>\n

      For Hougan, the upshot of the weekend\u2019s crypto market boon is clear: hedge funds, banks and other investors \u201cwho want to trade competitively\u201d have no choice but to establish a stablecoin wallet and explore Hyperliquid, and understand XAUT and tokenised stocks.<\/p>\n

      He said he now believes TradFI blockchain adoption would accelerate \u201cmuch faster\u201d than his previous estimate of 5-10 years.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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      The shift to onchain finance is inevitable. After this weekend, I\u2019m convinced that shift is coming sooner than any of us had imagined.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n Matt Hougan, Bitwise CIO <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

      Bitwise,Onchain#Weekend #Proved #Onchain #Markets #Future1772610220<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Hougan describes the situation as \u201cthe weekend that changed finance\u201d due to 24\/7 crypto rails proving their worth for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2036,450,492,3028,1791],"class_list":{"0":"post-7182","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bitcoin","8":"tag-future","9":"tag-markets","10":"tag-onchain","11":"tag-proved","12":"tag-weekend"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Weekend That Proved Onchain Markets Are the Future - Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=7182\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Weekend That Proved Onchain Markets Are the Future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said investors without access to traditional stock markets instead turned to crypto markets to trade the news of President Donald Trump\u2019s announcement of \u201cmajor combat operations\u201d in Iran on Sunday (US time). 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