Cryp-tastic Predictions: What Awaits in 2026? You Won’t Believe These Insights! 🤯

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What to know:

Welcome, dear reader, to the whimsical world of Crypto for Advisors, where we unravel the digital treasures for those brave financial souls in search of shiny coins. Subscribe here, if you dare, to receive our weekly musings every Thursday!

In today’s delightful newsletter, Paul Veradittakit, our fearless managing partner at Pantera Capital (what a title, eh?), unveils his crystal ball gazing into the year 2026-predicting a wild ride through crypto, real-world asset tokenization, and the AI takeover (cue the ominous music). 🎶

Programming Note: This may be our last newsletter of 2025 – fear not, we shall return in 2026, perhaps with capes and superpowers! We’re also on the hunt for third-party contributions, so if you’re a global thought leader with wisdom to share, send us your finest scrolls.

With heartfelt gratitude, we thank our contributors and subscribers for being part of our merry band this year. Here’s to 2026 – all signs point to an exhilarating escapade in the realm of digital assets!

– Sarah Morton

The 2026 Crypto Circus: Real-World Assets, AI Security, and the IPO Bonanza!

Ah, what a year 2025 has been! A U.S. administration appointed a crypto czar (yes, really), built a bitcoin stockpile (like a squirrel hoarding acorns), and formed a working group that sounds suspiciously like a secret society. 🕵️‍♂️ Meanwhile, Congress blessed the GENIUS Act, which made stablecoins as sought after as the last cookie in the jar-resulting in a $100 billion surge in demand!

Meanwhile, Coinbase sashayed onto the S&P 500 stage, blockchain companies popped up like daisies at an IPO party, Robinhood danced into the world of tokenized stocks, and Vanguard finally lifted its crypto ETF ban. Onwards to 2026 we go!

Real-world assets take flight!

As of December 15, 2025, real-world assets reached a staggering 14% of Total Value Locked (TVL)-that’s about $16.6 billion out of a DeFi TVL pool of $118 billion. Just look at it go!

Predictions:

Treasuries and private credit could at least double. Who knew finance could be so generous?
Tokenized stocks might grow even faster when the SEC’s “Innovation Exemption” makes its grand debut. 🌟
One surprise sector (think carbon credits or mineral rights) will ignite like a firecracker, thanks to blockchain’s magic wand.

AI: Your new security sidekick!

AI is getting so good at securing blockchains, I’m half-expecting it to start charging rent! With real-time fraud detection and smart-contract debugging, it’s like having a superhero on your payroll.

Prediction: Expect a dramatic shift toward on-chain intelligence where smart contracts become the ultimate rule-followers. The next big unicorn? An on-chain security firm that’ll make hackers cry in their pillows!

Prediction markets: The hot new targets!

With $28 billion traded in just 10 months, prediction markets are consolidating like a teenager’s messy room. We reached an ATH on October 20 at $2.3 billion – oh, the glory!

Prediction: An industry buyout exceeding $1 billion is on the horizon, but not involving Polymarket or Kalshi. Winning platforms will master the art of liquidity with hidden market-discovery genius. Forget shiny buttons; it’s all about giving users superpowers! 💪

AI becomes your crypto co-pilot!

Consumer AI is set to explode! Picture hyper-personalized experiences that feel as smooth as butter on warm toast. 🥖

Prediction: Platforms like Surf.ai will charm everyone from crypto newbies to trading veterans with their wizardry and speed. This will be the go-to tool for instant, on-chain-backed insights-quicker than you can say “blockchain”!

Bank titans assemble: G7-pegged stablecoin alert!

Ten major banks are brewing plans for a consortium stablecoin pegged to G7 currencies-what’s next, a treasure map? They’ll provide compliant, risk-managed digital currency benefits while European banks plot their own euro-pegged schemes.

Prediction: A consortium of major banks will unveil a stablecoin-whether it’s in 2026 or a different alliance remains to be seen.

Privacy, payments, perpetuals: The institutional holy trinity!

Privacy tech is booming in institutions with Zama and Canton leading the charge, though retail users seem a bit lost at sea. Stablecoins have soared to a $310 billion market cap-more than doubling since 2023!

Prediction: The gap between institutional and retail privacy will widen, stabilizing at over $2 trillion long-term and paving the way for perpetual swaps to continue their rise.

The most glorious crypto IPO year yet!

With 335 U.S. IPOs in 2025 (a 55% increase!), the crypto-friendly ones are aplenty, including the likes of Circle Internet Group and others. Get your popcorn ready for 2026-it’s going to be a blockbuster!

Prediction: Expect an explosion of digital asset public listings-76% of companies plan to add tokenized assets to their portfolios!

The institutional macro view

As of December 15, a whopping 17.867% of bitcoin holdings are now held by publicly traded companies, ETFs, and even countries. In 2026, crypto will weave itself into mainstream systems, challenging the mighty incumbents.

Prediction: 2026 will be less about hype and memes, and more about consolidation, compliance, and institutional money-ready to shake the very foundations of finance!

Read the full article here

– Paul Veradittakit, Managing Partner, Pantera Capital

2025-12-18 19:59