Bitwise: “On-chain finance surged during the U.S. strike on Iran…now a necessity, not a choice”

According to a report by The Block on the 3rd (local time), Matt Hougan, chief investment officer (CIO) at Bitwise, wrote in a memo titled “The Weekend That Changed Finance” that “for most of the Sunday during which the U.S. strike on Iran unfolded, on-chain finance sat at the center of the financial world.” He added that it was “the moment crypto-based markets fully became ‘the market.’”

President Donald Trump announced the strike on Iran at 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 28. At the time, U.S. stock and futures markets, FX markets, and major exchanges across Europe and Asia were largely closed. Outside of parts of the Middle East, the traditional financial infrastructure was not operating.

In that vacuum, investors shifted to on-chain markets that run 24/7. On Hyperliquid, trading in perpetual futures tied to assets such as crypto and crude oil surged. Tether’s gold token XAUT posted $300 million in 24-hour trading volume. Prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket also saw a sharp rise in activity. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) likewise drew attention as volatility picked up.

Hougan said the episode accelerated the shift toward on-chain finance. “I thought this would expand gradually over the next five to 10 years, but this weekend changed my mind,” he said.

He added, “Hedge funds, banks and competitive traders now need to learn on-chain finance,” saying they must “set up stablecoin wallets and understand on-chain derivatives.”