a16z Crypto Releases 17 Crypto Industry Trend Outlook for 2026

[a16z Crypto Releases 17 Crypto Industry Trends Outlook for 2026] According to Mars Finance, on January 1st, a16z Crypto stated in its latest New Year's predictions that 2026 will be a pivotal year for the deep integration of crypto technology with the financial, internet, and legal systems. The 17 trends it released show that the crypto industry is shifting from "transaction-driven" to "infrastructure-driven." Key takeaways include: • Stablecoins will enable more efficient fiat currency deposits and withdrawals, driving upgrades to banking ledgers and payment systems; • Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization will evolve in a more "natively crypto" manner, with stablecoins becoming critical infrastructure; • Crypto is reshaping wealth management, making it accessible to everyone, not just high-net-worth individuals; • Privacy is considered the most important long-term moat for the crypto space; • Decentralized, quantum-resistant communication, and new paradigms such as "Secrets-as-a-Service" will emerge; • AI will be widely used in serious research scenarios, and "Know Your Customer (KYC)" is evolving into "Know Your Agent (KYA)"; • New application forms such as prediction markets and staked media are expected to expand their influence; • As the legal architecture gradually aligns with the technical architecture, the full potential of blockchain can be truly unleashed. a16z crypto believes that transactions will no longer be the end point of crypto businesses, but merely a "transfer station" to a broader application ecosystem, and crypto is becoming the underlying new primitive of the internet and financial systems.