If 2021 was the year of the "mythical bull run," 2022 was the long fall, 2023 was the exploratory recovery, and 2024-2025 was the period of "quiet building"... then 2026 will most likely be the year crypto begins to stabilize and choose its path .
The year 2025 has revealed a rather clear truth: the market no longer operates the way it used to.
No single narrative is truly unique and unrivaled.
Retailers are no longer driven by FOMO (fear of missing out) in the sense of "jump in first."
Meme still exist, but the feeling of "hitting the mark at random" is gone.
And most importantly: old copy-paste playbooks are almost completely useless .
2025 is like a “transition year”: the market is emerging from a period of turmoil, learning to adapt to institutional money flows and a gradually clearer regulatory environment. Therefore, 2026 is not the year to hunt for new trends. 2026 is the year when established trends begin to lock down the direction of the entire market .
Here are five key predictions about the crypto landscape in 2026 — from Thelearningpill's perspective.
1) Prediction Market will become the "national app" of crypto.
Among the many promising crypto Use Case , the prediction market is one of the rare ones that is becoming increasingly understandable and user-friendly .
What fueled the prediction market boom wasn't about "betting on wins and losses," but rather something deeper:
Money is used to express beliefs and predictions about the real world — from politics, economics, and markets to popular culture.
When platforms like Polymarket or Kalshi partner with major media outlets in 2025, they're not just attracting users. They're bringing in what crypto lacks most: legitimacy .
By 2026, the prediction market could enter another level:
liquidation is more concentrated.
Smoother UX,
sharper data,
And users begin to feel they have an "informational advantage" when participating.
The most likely scenario is that Volume remains concentrated on a few major platforms, and the prediction market becomes a "gateway" for newcomers to crypto—without needing extensive blockchain knowledge.
2) Mass-market degen culture will no longer be the focus.
"The trenches" will still exist. But the all-in, rugpull, and hourly meme strategies are gradually becoming less dominant in the market.
The reason is not because degen has disappeared.
Because when:
clearer legal
organize on-chain,
and liquidation becomes more selective,
Then the natural market will shift to the following state:
Less impulsive – more patient – more selective .
In 2026, speculation will still exist (because that's the nature of the market). But instead of pure zero-sum meme , speculative money flows will prioritize:
underlying assets,
It has a reason to exist.
There's a longer story to it.
Degen is still there, but he will no longer define the entire market as he did in the past.
3) Legally compliant DeFi will become the fastest-growing arena.
If DeFi was previously just "farming APY for fun," 2025 has begun to prove that DeFi is evolving:
Stablecoins have yields.
The vault operates strategically.
Risk management systems are becoming increasingly similar to TradeFi.
And the story of "safe DeFi " is starting to become more serious.
When legal pressure shifts from "strangulation to death" to "regulation for operation," the organization's question will change from:
"Should we use DeFi ?"
wall
"How to use DeFi properly and effectively?"
As we enter 2026, long-term winning DeFi projects might look quite… boring .
No frills, no flashy narrative, no excessive marketing.
But inside is the system:
stable operation
good risk management
difficult to replace
and meets the criteria for large capital inflows.
DeFi in 2026 will be more like "financial infrastructure" than a yield game.
4) Bitcoin DeFi will not stop — it will continue to expand.
Bitcoin-native DeFi is a unique branch: it's growing slowly, but it's not stopping.
2025 will see many advancements:
SDK for Bitcoin
Native DeFi vault on BTC
Testing Bitcoin yield using various new models.
This might sound like a "niche"... until you look at the bigger picture:
When banks are allowed to hold crypto, financial advisors begin recommending BTC allocation, and funds view BTC as a strategic asset — the amount of Capital Peg in Bitcoin will increase dramatically.
And when you have more Bitcoin, the next question is:
"Is just holding BTC enough?"
In this context, the need for " Capital efficiency" will emerge:
find yield
find a structured strategy
find a safer model
By 2026, the money Peg in BTC will naturally flow to Bitcoin DeFi. Therefore, the TVL of Bitcoin DeFi is unlikely to decline — it can only become more "accepted".
5) Privacy is no longer a niche — it's a necessity.
Privacy in crypto was once viewed as a "dark side" of the market. But that's a misconception.
The reason users prefer traditional banks is not just because of convenience.
But because they don't want to:
Strangers know how much money they have.
How are they spending their money?
or who to trade with
When traditional Capital moves onto on-chain, they will bring similar expectations:
Privacy should be the standard, not the option.
The fact that Zcash 's shielded assets are expected to grow steadily in 2025 is a significant sign:
Privacy on-chain is no longer a niche.
By 2026, privacy chains and privacy wallets will become more common, especially as:
participating organizations
Businesses are starting to use on-chain.
and requires compliance alongside privacy rights.
Wallets that don't integrate privacy features may gradually be left behind.
In conclusion: 2026 is not the year to chase trends, but the year when capital flows into areas of true value.
If you're still asking "what's the new trend?", you might be looking at the market with an outdated mindset.
A more appropriate question for 2026 would probably be:
Where is the money supposed to go?
And the answer will most likely revolve around:
DeFi (especially standardized and compliant DeFi )
RWAs
Prediction markets
Bitcoin - native finance
Privacy policy
2026 may not be a noisy year. But it will be the year crypto begins to resemble… a real financial system .
