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Crypto Intelligence
By Zach Pandl, Head of Research

March 2, 2026

While You Were Sleeping: Onchain Markets Shine During Weekend Volatility

Zach Pandl
By Zach PandlGrayscale Head of Research

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The military conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran began in the early morning hours on Saturday February 28, when traditional markets were closed. Crypto markets were open, however, and the volatility helped demonstrate the value of blockchain-based finance.

  • Tokenized assets:ย Tetherโ€™s tokenized gold product,ย XAUt, saw a surge in transfer volume on Ethereumย andย providedย a way to track the price ofย the precious metal while traditional markets were closed. Intradayย pricesย forย XAUtย nearly reached $5,400 on Saturday before stabilizing around $5,340 (see chart).
  • Prediction markets:ย Polymarketย provided a way to aggregate complex andย volatile news flowโ€”some of which may be contradictory or from potentially biased sourcesโ€”into probabilities of specific outcomes, like the date of aย potential cease fire.
  • Perpetual futures:ย Open interestย for non-crypto (HIP-3) futures on Hyperliquid reached a new recordย as traders used the platform to take and hedge risk.

Key Takeaway: Crypto has plenty of skeptics, but this weekendโ€™s events demonstrate the role blockchains play in modernizing price discovery and risk management across capital markets.

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