By Vicky Ge Huang

While traditional oil markets take a break over the weekend, digital platforms are providing a 24/7 preview of where crude prices are headed.

On the crypto exchange Hyperliquid, prices for contracts linked to the West Texas Intermediate crude traded at around $102 a barrel as of 6:20 p.m. ET on Saturday, up about 5% over the previous 24 hours.

In traditional markets, the U.S. oil benchmark officially finished the week at $98.71 a barrel on Friday and will resume trading at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Since the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in Iran began, overseas traders have rushed to bet on oil prices on Hyperliquid as fighting in the Middle East unfolded over the weekends. The cumulative volume on the exchange's oil futures surged to about $7.3 billion on Thursday from $339 million on Feb. 28, according to crypto data provider Kaiko.

The exchange's oil-futures trades still account for less than a drop in the barrel, but they offer a glimpse of a future where traditional and digital finance converge-and all forms of assets can be traded at any moment. The move is part of a broad shift toward 24/7 trading, as Wall Street races to transform everything from stocks, bonds and funds into digital tokens using the distributed ledger technology behind bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 14, 2026 18:35 ET (22:35 GMT)