Oil prices surge 30%, triggering a chain of liquidations: Hyperliquid oil shorts wiped out, nearly $40 million evaporated instantly

On March 9, news reports indicated that the rapidly worsening Middle East situation has caused extreme volatility in the global energy markets, with crude oil prices surging approximately 30% in a short period, setting a record for single-day gains. As a result, there has been a large-scale liquidation in the crypto derivatives market, with nearly $40 million in perpetual contracts on tokenized crude oil liquidated on the Hyperliquid platform in the past 24 hours, approximately $36.9 million of which came from short positions.

Data shows that the CL-USDC crude oil contract price briefly rose to $114.77, nearly a 20% increase over 24 hours; the USOIL-USDH trading pair reached a high of $135, climbing further on the back of previous continuous gains. Meanwhile, traditional energy markets also experienced significant fluctuations, with Brent and WTI crude oil prices reaching their highest levels since the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022.

The direct cause of this oil price surge was the sudden escalation of geopolitical risks in the Middle East. Iran announced Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader, followed by Israel launching a new round of strikes against Iranian and Hezbollah facilities. Iran’s missile and drone attacks expanded to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, targeting energy infrastructure, leading to about a 60% drop in Iraq’s oil production. At the same time, oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz significantly decreased, and Kuwait and the UAE also began reducing oil output, further heightening market tension.

During this volatile period, short sellers in crude oil suffered heavy losses. Liquidations of just the CL contracts reached $36.9 million, making oil one of the largest single-asset liquidation events in the crypto derivatives market outside of Bitcoin and Ethereum on that day. According to CoinGlass, over the past 24 hours, 94,058 traders in the entire crypto market were forcibly liquidated, with total losses of about $364 million, including $157 million in Bitcoin, approximately $70.88 million in Ethereum, and about $19.8 million in Solana.

Market analysis indicates that crypto perpetual contracts, due to their 24/7 trading and higher leverage flexibility, are increasingly becoming important tools for traders to express macro asset views. When traditional commodity markets are closed on weekends, digital asset derivatives platforms can still facilitate leveraged trading, making it easier for sudden oil price events to be quickly reflected in the crypto market. (CoinDesk)