Phemex said crude oil perpetual futures volume on its TradFi platform climbed more than 300% week over week after the US-Iran ceasefire announcement set off a violent move in oil prices. During that week, crude oil trading volume on the platform exceeded $300 million, while the asset’s share of total TradFi volume rose from about 3% to 12%.
WTI dropped more than 15% within hours of the ceasefire news
The exchange said the ceasefire announcement triggered the largest single-day oil price swing since the 1991 Gulf War. WTI fell by more than 15% within hours. On April 7, daily crude oil volume on Phemex reached an all-time high of $85 million, a 4.6x increase from normal levels.
Phemex TradFi offers WTI (XTI) and Brent crude oil (XBR) perpetual futures settled in USDT. The contracts trade 24/7 and do not expire, which the platform says lets users respond to geopolitical developments even when traditional commodity venues are closed.
More than 8,000 traders entered oil contracts in one week
Over the past week, more than 8,000 unique traders participated in crude oil contracts on the platform. Single-day active users also moved past 2,000 for the first time. Phemex CEO Federico Variola said crude oil shifted from a niche product to one of the exchange’s fastest-growing asset classes almost overnight. He added that WTI fell $12 after hours following the ceasefire announcement, while traditional commodity exchanges were closed and Phemex users were still able to trade.
Phemex links the spike to demand for always-open market access
The company said cross-asset volatility is being shaped more often by real-time geopolitical events, pushing demand for continuous market access higher. Phemex also said it plans to keep expanding its TradFi offering so traders can react across more asset classes with greater speed and flexibility.
Founded in 2019, Phemex says it is used by more than 10 million traders worldwide. The platform offers spot trading, derivatives, copy trading, and wealth management products.