Commodity perpetual contracts on-chain just posted the fastest growth of any segment in crypto derivatives.
According to <a href="https://www.bitmex.com/blog/2026q1-derivatives-report" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">BitMEX's Q1 2026 Derivatives Report</a>, weekly volume in commodity perps went from $38.1 million to $25 billion during the quarter. That is a <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/gold-silver-oil-fuel-65000-surge-in-commodity-perpetuals" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">65,463% increase</a>.
Here is how that volume broke down by asset:
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/tag/silver" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Silver</a>: 34.8% of commodity perp volume</li>
 <li>Crude <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/tag/oil" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">oil</a>: 27.7%</li>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/tag/gold" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Gold</a>: 27.5%</li>
</ul>
Crude oil alone went from near zero to $6.9 billion in weekly volume in March, driven largely by Iran-related geopolitical tensions that played out over a weekend, when traditional commodity markets were closed.
To be clear, this is still a fraction of the traditional commodity market. CME Group's WTI crude oil futures alone averaged <a href="https://www.cmegroup.com/media-room/press-releases/2026/3/09/cme_group_energycomplexreachesall-timedailyvolumerecordof83milli.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">1.7 million contracts per day</a> in Q1 2026, with a record 2 million contracts per day in March. CME's full energy complex hit an all-time daily volume record of 8.3 million contracts that same month.
But the growth rate on-chain is hard to ignore. Commodity perpetual contracts went from a rounding error to a $25 billion weekly market in one quarter.
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/innovation/decibel-explains-how-onchain-markets-remove-slow-middlemen" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: Decibel explains how onchain markets remove slow middlemen</a>
<h2 id="what-is-a-perpetual-contract-and-why-does-it-matter-here">What is a perpetual contract and why does it matter here</h2>
A perpetual contract, or perp, is a futures contract that never expires. Standard futures have an expiration date. When that date hits, you either settle or roll into a new contract. Perps skip that entirely. They track an asset's price continuously using a mechanism called a funding rate that keeps the contract price aligned with the real spot price.
A perpetual <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/tag/dex" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">DEX</a> is a decentralized exchange that runs these contracts entirely on a blockchain. There is no company holding your funds. No broker. No closing time. You connect a <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/technology/robinhood-now-lets-ai-trade-stocks-on-your-behalf" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">crypto wallet</a> and trade directly.
This model proved itself first with crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Now it is being applied to gold, silver, and oil.
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/innovation/aptos-and-jump-crypto-open-shelby-early-access-for-ai-data-infrastructure" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: Aptos and Jump Crypto open Shelby Early Access for AI data infrastructure</a>
<h2 id="why-commodity-traders-are-going-on-chain">Why commodity traders are going on-chain</h2>
The reason is simple. Gold does not stop moving when New York closes. Oil reacts to a headline at 2 a.m. the same way it does at noon. But for most traders, acting on that has always meant waiting for markets to open.
On-chain perp markets remove that limitation. They also remove the intermediaries, the brokerage accounts, and the fragmented infrastructure that has historically made commodity access expensive and slow for retail traders, especially outside the U.S. and Europe.
Brylee Whatley, Head of the Decibel Foundation, which operates a fully on-chain perpetuals exchange built on the <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/tag/aptos" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Aptos blockchain</a>, says the demand is coming from both directions.
<blockquote>
 "We're seeing the crypto-native crowd expand into commodities, using their event-driven and volatility experience in markets that have been more volatile lately. On the other side, traditional finance traders are venturing in... they have familiarity with gold and oil, they have brokerage accounts, but they don't have the weekend activity. They're preferring the continuous perp to get direct exposure they can monitor in real time, all the time."
</blockquote>
<h2 id="what-decibel-has-launched-so-far">What Decibel has launched so far</h2>
Decibel rolled out commodity perps in quick succession this spring:
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://app.decibel.trade/trade/GOLD-USD" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Gold perps</a>: launched April 16</li>
 <li><a href="https://app.decibel.trade/trade/SILVER-USD" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Silver perps</a>: launched April 22</li>
 <li><a href="https://app.decibel.trade/trade/WTIOIL-USD" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">WTI crude oil perps</a>: launched May 7</li>
</ul>
<figure><a href="https://app.decibel.trade/trade/GOLD-USD" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"></a>
 <figcaption>
 Gold perps on Decibel. (Source: Decibel)
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Oil took longer because the pricing methodology was more complex. Standard commodity perps reference a spot price. Oil perps require rolling futures contract pricing, which adds a layer of technical work.
Then on May 22, Decibel expanded into equities, listing perpetual contracts on <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/veteran-investor-names-the-next-nvidia-before-ai-boom" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">NVIDIA</a>, Tesla, <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/google-backed-stock-jumps-after-new-ai-deal" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Google</a>, and Amazon.
Whatley said commodity and equity perps are already among Decibel's top 5 traded assets consistently.
<blockquote>
 "Natural gas, which is similar to oil in its pricing methodology, will be listed on Decibel soon," Whatley noted.
</blockquote>
Trending on TheStreet Roundtable
<ul>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/innovation/blockchains-will-build-a-new-universe" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Aptos SVP says blockchains will 'build a new universe'</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/new-oil-pipeline-bypassing-hormuz-set-for-2027-launch" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">New oil pipeline bypassing Hormuz set for 2027 launch</a></li>
 <li><a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/trump-threatens-to-blow-up-oman-if-they-dont-behave" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Trump threatens to 'blow up' Oman if they don't behave</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="transparency">Transparency&nbsp;</h2>
The other thing Decibel is selling, besides 24/7 access, is transparency.
Decibel runs a fully on-chain order book on Aptos. That means every trade, every liquidation, and every margin check is recorded on the blockchain and publicly verifiable. On a centralized exchange, order matching and fund custody happen behind closed doors. On Decibel, they do not.
<blockquote>
 "When you're dealing with centralised exchanges, you have no way of verifying if you're on a level playing ground with other participants, or if your funds are being commingled. On-chain, the full stack.. time-price priority, settlement, the risk engine.. is there for everyone to see." added Whatley.
</blockquote>
This matters more for commodities than it might for crypto. Crypto traders are used to on-chain infrastructure. Someone trading gold or oil for the first time through a DEX needs to trust that the system works. Being able to verify every component of the exchange on-chain is the pitch.
<h2 id="what-decibel-is-building-next">What Decibel is building next</h2>
Decibel is building toward a single on-chain venue where you can trade any asset class, crypto, commodities, equities, forex, all from one account, all the time.
One feature currently in development is portfolio margin based on borrow-lend. That would let traders use a diverse set of assets as collateral for derivatives positions, not just stablecoins. If you hold gold and want to open a Bitcoin position, you could use your gold holdings as collateral instead of selling them first.
<blockquote>
 "The legacy markets, the London Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, are a legacy system. The markets of tomorrow will look different."
</blockquote>
Whether the future of markets is fully on-chain is still an open question. But the numbers from Q1 2026 show that the shift has already started, and it is moving fast.
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/beloved-oil-trading-platform-lands-on-wall-street-with-etf" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: Beloved oil trading platform lands on Wall Street with ETF</a>

Gold, silver, and oil are now trading 24/7 on-chain. The numbers are massive.

Table of Contents

TheStreet Roundtable

Other articles published on May 28, 2026

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!