In a recent analysis report, experts at the Coinbase platform reviewed the past year while attempting to identify the three major trends to watch for in 2026, a year already described as “a shift from theory to practice” for the crypto ecosystem.
Coinbase presents a “cautiously optimistic outlook” for 2026
Following a 2025 dominated by unprecedented regulatory openness in the United States and accelerated stock market and institutional adoption, analysts at the cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase have ventured into forecasting for 2026.
Indeed, the Trump administration has very clearly paved the way for a new era of development for the cryptocurrency sector, which is now largely driven beyond its initial ecosystem, with tools such as the tokenization of real-world assets and the proliferation of Digital Asset Treasuries (DAT).
Timeline of regulatory developments in the United States in 2025
This has allowed Coinbase analysts to present a “cautiously optimistic outlook” for the start of next year, partly thanks to a U.S. economy described as “resilient,” capable of acting as “a buffer against the slowdown in global macroeconomic indicators.”
In this context, we believe that the crypto market landscape in the first half of 2026 resembles 1996 more than 1999 (in other words, we are approaching next year with a constructive outlook), while acknowledging that there remains a significant degree of uncertainty.
Coinbase
The year 2025 will also have been one of a transformation in decentralized finance (DeFi) toward a “tokenomics 2.0” model capable of “linking the token holders’ economy to the actual use of platforms” through mechanisms such as fee sharing, token buybacks, and buy-and-burn mechanisms.
On the agenda: stablecoins, prediction markets, and perpetual markets
Once the 2025 review was finalized, Coinbase analysts turned their attention to the outlook for the coming year. A dynamic largely driven by the implementation of the most popular use cases in the cryptocurrency sector, moving beyond the simple narrative trends that had previously driven its market in a (highly) seasonal manner.
The first trend identified concerns “the composability of crypto derivatives,” particularly with the unprecedented rise of perpetual DEXs like Hyperliquid (HYPE). Perpetual contracts have become true cornerstones of DeFi, integrating with lending, collateral, and hedging mechanisms.
As global retail participation in U.S. equities continues its structural growth, we believe equity perps could become the preferred choice for a new generation of retail traders, combining 24/7 access with more efficient use of capital.
Coinbase
Next come prediction markets, whose volumes are expected to continue growing through 2026. This is particularly true given the prospect of associated aggregators emerging “as a dominant interface layer, capable of consolidating billions of dollars in weekly volumes.”
Finally, Coinbase analysts identify stablecoins and payments as the third key element in this ranking, particularly in light of the accelerated development of artificial intelligence (AI), whose agents are beginning to settle multiple machine-to-machine transactions, not to mention “cross-border transactions, remittances, and payroll management platforms .”
