A summary of 2026 forecasts from 14 industry giants including Fidelity and a16z: Global regulation will benefit areas such as stablecoins, artificial intelligence, and privacy.

Fourteen industry giants, including Fidelity, a16z, and BlackRock, have made predictions for the crypto market in 2026: 1. BlackRock, in its 2026 Global Market Outlook, stated that as stablecoin adoption increases, the proportion of emerging markets using their own currencies may decline, and stablecoins will challenge government control over domestic currencies. 2. David Duong, Head of Investment Research at Coinbase, stated that demand for privacy tokens will surge due to increased global awareness of digital surveillance, with Ethereum's privacy initiatives and tokens like Zcash and Monero gaining attention. 3. Fidelity stated that more countries will buy Bitcoin in 2026, with Brazil and Kyrgyzstan having passed legislation allowing Bitcoin to be included in their national reserves. 4. Strategy CEO Phong Le also predicted increased national adoption of Bitcoin in 2026. 5. JPMorgan, in its market outlook, stated that although the market value will decrease from $4 trillion in 2025, the crypto industry will remain well-positioned in 2026 due to more relaxed regulations in the United States. Stablecoins are emerging as a distinct force, with digital assets gaining popularity due to increased searches for them as alternatives to the US dollar. 6. a16z predicts that by 2026, AI agents will revolutionize internet payments and banking, enabling instant permissioned payments without invoices or reconciliation. A16z also believes privacy will become the most important moat in the crypto space. 7. DefiLlama stated in a joint report that regulatory transparency has pushed stablecoins into the mainstream. By 2026, other jurisdictions will follow the US Genius Act and the EU MiCA policy, accelerating the emergence of non-US dollar stablecoins. 8. Galaxy Digital predicts that the price of Bitcoin will reach $250,000 by the end of 2027, stablecoin trading volume will surpass the ACH banking system, and the market capitalization of privacy-related tokens will exceed $100 billion by the end of 2026. 9. Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Asset Research at VanEck, predicts that digital assets will enter a consolidation phase rather than a surge or crash in 2026. He maintains Bitcoin's four-year cycle and recommends clients allocate 1% to 3% of their portfolios to top-tier crypto assets. 10. Katrina Paglia, Chief Legal Officer at Pantera Capital, stated that US crypto policy will shift from uncertainty to enforcement, with the Trump administration's regulatory restart clarifying the industry's direction. The Genius Act establishes a licensing and regulatory framework for payment-based stablecoins. 11. Jeff Ren, co-founder of OKX Ventures, stated that more assets will be on-chain in 2026, including gold, stocks, intellectual property, and even GPUs, aiming to encapsulate risk in an intuitive format for users to hedge. 12. Analysts Anthony Vassallo and Josh Pherigo at Silicon Valley Bank believe that venture capitalists will invest more in institutional-grade crypto products from mature companies in 2026, with corporate adoption of crypto technology accelerating market confidence. 13. 21Shares predicts that the assets under management of crypto spot ETFs will exceed $400 billion by 2026, and these tools have become strategic allocation tools. 14. A TRM Labs report indicates that the crypto industry will enter a more mature and strictly regulated phase. Governments worldwide view blockchain networks as a national security issue, and the divergence between compliant institutional markets and offshore markets will become more pronounced. (DL News)