Oil rally crushes $37 million in crypto shorts as bitcoin drops

Tokenized crude oil futures on Hyperliquid experienced a massive liquidation event, totaling nearly $40 million, with $36.9 million coming from short positions wiped out as crude oil surged approximately 30% following a dramatic escalation of the conflict involving Iran. The catalyst for the surge included Iran appointing a new supreme leader after his predecessor was killed, fresh Israeli attacks, and Iranian missile strikes expanding to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, leading to production cuts and collapsed tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. This price action saw tokenized oil contracts like CL-USDC jump significantly, reaching levels not seen since 2022. This event highlights the growing trend of traders using crypto perpetual markets like Hyperliquid to express macro views on commodities 24/7. While oil shorts were liquidated, the broader crypto market also saw $364.4 million in total liquidations, with Bitcoin accounting for $156.67 million, as risk assets generally dropped on the geopolitical escalation.

(Source：CoinDesk)