BitMEX: Commodity Perps Grew 65K% in Q1 – XAG Leads

According to the report published by BitMEX on Thursday, commodity perpetual swaps became the fastest-growing segment of TradFi perpetuals in the first quarter of 2026. Weekly trading volume surged by 65.463% from $38.1 million to $25 billion. In this explosion, silver (XAG), crude oil (CL), and gold (XAU) played leading roles; in the week of March 15, XAG topped with 34.8% market share, CL 27.7%, and XAU captured 27.5% share.

Global Weekly Volume by Commodity Pair. Source: BitMEX

XAG, CL, and XAU Leadership in BitMEX Commodity Perpetuals

Commodity perpetual swaps offer continuous leveraged positions without fixed expiration. XAG's leadership stems from industrial demand and safe haven seeking. The following table summarizes the market shares for the week of March 15:

Commodity	Market Share (%)	Volume Contribution
XAG (Silver)	34.8	Leader
CL (Crude Oil)	27.7	Geopolitical
XAU (Gold)	27.5	Safe Haven

Crude Oil Surge: Iran Tensions and 24/7 Access

Crude oil's addition in March accelerated with Iran-related geopolitical tensions and crypto-based 24/7 commodity exposure. Brent crude oil has risen 44% since the US/Israel-Iran attacks on February 28, from $69 to $99, peaking at $114 on Tuesday. This enables onchain speculation on weekends when traditional exchanges are closed.

Brent Crude Oil, six-month chart. Source: Tradingeconomics

BitMEX CEO Lutz: Advantages of Onchain Perps

BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz emphasized that onchain TradFi perpetuals are preferred for real-time speculation and hedging on weekend geopolitical events. Onchain commodity market cap fell 2.7% over the last 30 days to $7.34 billion (RWA.xyz). The decline stems from profit-taking, but the volume growth trend remains strong.

Tokenized commodities market capitalization. Source: RWA.xyz

Binance Commodity Perps: $1.31 Billion Daily Volume

Binance launched gold and silver perpetuals in January, recording an average daily volume of $1.31 billion in the XAG contract for the quarter. This boosted liquidity, narrowed spreads, and made leveraged trading attractive. Funding rates remained long-biased, indicating longs' dominance.

Technical Analysis in RWA Growth: ALT Example

While tokenized commodities expand the RWA ecosystem, assets like ALT detailed analysis are affected by similar dynamics. ALT price 0,01$, 24h -%3,10, RSI 59,78 (neutral), uptrend but Supertrend bearish. EMA20: 0,0071$.

Level	Price	Score	Distance	Sources
S1	0,0076	78/100 ⭐	-0.65%	Fibo 0.214, Prev Close
S2	0,0071	68/100 ⭐	-7.19%	EMA20, LV
R1	0,0078	72/100 ⭐	+1.96%	Ichimoku, Fibo 0.236
R2	0,0090	62/100 ⭐	+17.65%	Fibo 0.382, Donchian

Commodity rally can create hedging opportunities for ALT futures. HOME analysis should also be monitored.