In 2026, the dominant theme of the crypto market will evolve deeply from "speculation-driven" to "utility value and fundamentals," with some emerging trends in institutional entry allocation, RWA, Crypto, prediction markets, Perp DEX, stablecoins, privacy, among others.

Looking back at 2025, the crypto market completed a key paradigm shift amidst turmoil and rebuilding. This year was considered the industry's "transition year" — the market focus transitioned from the meme speculation frenzy in the first half of the year to a utility-focused RWA, Stablecoin, PayFi, and prediction market integration in the second half.

Standing at the doorstep of 2026, we believe the dominant theme of the market will evolve deeply from "speculation-driven" to "utility value and fundamentals." With the clarification of regulatory paths, institutional adoption becoming mainstream, and the large-scale implementation of real-world applications, 2026 is highly likely to be the year when crypto technology truly achieves "systemic integration."

Based on a refined perspective of the market, we have outlined the following seven core insights.

1. "ETF 2.0" and Asset Allocation Restructuring Under the Institutional Wave

The most certain incremental growth in 2026 still comes from Wall Street, but the logic has shifted from a single-point breakthrough to comprehensive penetration.

With a relaxed regulatory environment, a basket of spot ETFs, including SOL, DOGE, XRP, HBAR, has already entered or is about to enter smoothly. More importantly, the market is transitioning from passive holding in "ETF 1.0" to seeking native returns in "ETF 2.0." For example, the Ethereum staking feature promoted by issuers like Bitwise precisely caters to traditional capital's desire for "yield-generating assets."

In addition, entry players are upgrading from DAT companies and asset management giants to "national-level treasuries." With the global discussion sparked by the establishment of the "strategic Bitcoin reserve" in the US this year and substantial allocations from various pension funds, it is imaginable that in 2026, seeing Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) on the balance sheet will no longer be surprising news.

2. Scale Expansion of RWA (Real World Asset) Tokenization

RWA (Real World Assets) validated the on-chain presence of government bonds, precious metals, and US stocks in 2025, and 2026 will undoubtedly point to a broader array.

It is foreseeable that in 2026, we will witness the settlement of stock perpetual contracts, ETFs, private equity, and other emerging market assets on a compliant chain, marking the entry of TradFi and DeFi integration into the operational stage.

Even Messari's view is more radical, suggesting that the tokenization of consumer-grade RWAs (such as high-end collectibles, trading cards, intellectual property) will also become a new entry point. (Click to view the 18 U.S. stock tokens already launched on WEEX).

3. 「AI + Crypto」: From Concept to 「Agentic Economy」

From the earliest AI computational power, to AI Memes, then to AI Agents, and this year's burgeoning DeFAI, the innovative combination of AI+Crypto always brings forth exciting new products and investment opportunities.

As the two merge into a system, the focus in 2026 will shift to the large-scale collaboration of AI Agents. Through the x402 micro-payment standard, the Agentic Alpha collaboration network, and the KYA (Agent Identity Verification) framework, AI agents will have the ability for independent payments and collaboration. This technological breakthrough will trigger a new 「narrative flywheel,」 attracting developers to build a self-sustaining economic system without human intervention. (Click to participate in AI Wars: WEEX Alpha Awakens).

4. Prediction Markets: From Election Tool to 「Universal Hedge Tool」

The explosive growth of the prediction market in the second half of 2025 has shown that platforms like Polymarket can evolve into a collective wisdom gaming platform, not only used for betting on the outcome of presidential elections.

WEEX Labs also explored its potential in another article titled "Is the super bull market cycle coming for Prediction Markets?" It is believed that with regulatory loosening and institutional support, prediction markets will expand to cover everyday risks in exchange rates, policies, sports, etc., and become a high-quality information pricing channel.

It can be foreseen that around this track, DeFi-ized betting assets (leverage/lending), AI Agent automated betting, and cross-market arbitrage opportunity tools will emerge massively in 2026, with trading volumes expected to challenge or even surpass traditional gambling giants.

5. Perp DEX: From CEX-Comparable Experience to Revenue Dominance

Trading is the eternal topic of the crypto market. With the maturation of high-performance L1 and specialized application chains this year, the trading experience of Perp DEX has reached parity with centralized exchanges and has the absolute advantage of no admission requirements and self-custody, thereby establishing the dominance of Hyperliquid, Aster, Lighter, and edgeX.

Compared to other tracks mainly driven by narrative with no actual revenue, Perp DEX emphasizes real fee income and user retention, so protocols with definite revenue potential in the future will still have the opportunity to stand out.

Furthermore, the next major breakthrough for Perp DEX in the coming year may lie in technology-driven product evolution. For example, through synthetic asset technology, users can directly on-chain leverage trade US stocks, commodities, or macroeconomic data (such as CPI predictions).

6. The "Must-Have" of Privacy Technology: The Last Puzzle Piece for Institutional Entry

For a long time, privacy has been seen as a fringe narrative, but by the end of this year, the compliance-labeled privacy narrative has surged against the trend, with the potential to return to a "mainstream standard" in the next year.

Especially as monitoring intensifies, privacy-focused assets like Zcash (ZEC) are gradually being repriced by the market as hedging tools against "financial repression," and future on-chain privacy (such as Ethereum's ERC-7984, Solana's Confidential Transfers) and Appchain customized privacy preferences will attract more institutional entry focused on privacy security.

Privacy is no longer a niche track but a mainstream adoption "must-have" – as on-chain data and privacy technologies like ZK, FHE become more widespread, privacy chains in 2026 and "privacy-as-a-service" infrastructure may hold a significant market share.

If you want to learn more about the cutting-edge ZK, FHE, and other technologies in this track, you can click on the article "The Dawn of Verifiable Privacy – On the Eve of Crypto's Mass Adoption?" for details.

7. Stablecoin Payments: From Regulatory Advantage to Systemic Payment Dominance

By 2025, the total issuance of stablecoins exceeded $300 billion, with an average monthly transaction volume of $1.1 trillion, surpassing parts of credit card networks like Visa and approaching half of the US ACH system's volume.

Breaking down by stablecoin subcategories, USD-pegged stablecoins (such as USDT, USDC) accounted for over 80%-99%, thus benefiting from the US "GENIUS Act," accelerating institutional adoption.

Entering 2026, the regulatory advantage will drive deep integration among banks and payment giants (such as Visa, Stripe, PayPal), and cross-border settlements, AI agents, TradFi, PayFi, and RWA scenarios will become mainstream use cases for stablecoin payments.

It is worth mentioning that the success of such projects depends on distribution scale, compliance enforcement, and technical interoperability. Undoubtedly, the trend of oligopoly will intensify.

Overall, stablecoin payments in 2026 will become the most certain "real demand" growth point in the crypto industry, driving the market from speculation to systemic integration.

Conclusion: Farewell to Grassroots, Embrace the System

Looking at the outlook for 2026 from major institutions, a clear signal is: the cryptocurrency industry is accelerating convergence practices in a compliant environment.

Specifically, whether it is stablecoin payments, RWA, prediction markets, or Perp DEX, they will comprehensively connect the crypto-native loop to the real world, ushering in a trend change that is not only the vanguard of crypto practicality, able to bridge more traditional assets and use cases but also will nurture more cyclical opportunities.

Although macro volatility and security risks still need attention, these trend opportunities are quietly brewing and are worth our close attention—after all, the crypto industry is transitioning from the intense volatility of "ice and fire" to systemic integration with the traditional world, which may be the biggest Alpha we can observe.

About Us

WEEX Labs is the research department of WEEX Exchange, dedicated to tracking and analyzing trends in cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and emerging markets, and providing professional assessments.

The team upholds the principles of objective, independent, and comprehensive analysis, aiming to explore cutting-edge trends and investment opportunities through rigorous research methods and advanced data analysis, providing the industry with comprehensive, rigorous, and clear insights, and offering all-around development and investment guidance for Web3 startups and investors.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this article are for reference only and do not constitute endorsement of any products and services discussed, nor do they constitute any investment, financial, or trading advice. Readers should consult qualified professionals before making financial decisions. Please note that WEEX Labs may restrict or prohibit all or part of its services from restricted areas.

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