Source: Auditless Research
Original title: 20 Predictions for Crypto in 2026
Note: This article does not constitute investment advice for predicting the market .
As 2025 draws to a close amidst silence and growing pains, we begin to question everything once again—from blue-chip blockchains like Optimism and Bitcoin to artificial intelligence, without exception.
The following are some predictions from areas I personally focus on (please note: these areas may not necessarily be related to truly important directions).
Looking back at this article next year at this time should be a helpful exercise; at the very least, it will remind you: don't take online writers' words too seriously :).
Forecast List
Fintech public blockchains are not creating value for ETH : Ethereum will become a marketing term, and the “Ethereum community” will start focusing on its asset value again.
The number of stablecoins will surpass Layer 2 : while the mechanisms are similar, the barrier to entry for issuing stablecoins is much lower. Overall, the industry will learn to monetize Total Value Locked (TVL) as deeply as it monetizes trading volume.
The Rollup cluster narrative is coming to an end : the model of sacrificing significant sequencer costs for inter-Rollup interconnection will disappear or become a commodity. Major Rollup clusters will experience significant exit events.
The privacy sector is receding : the large-scale application of privacy technologies still requires multiple iterations, and the current surge in value may be premature.
On-chain ETFification and the end of retail mining : Through tools such as gtUSDa, users will shift from farming specific vaults to depositing funds into standardized vaults managed by collateralized assets (such as USDC, ETH, etc.).
A trustless asset management protocol has been hacked, resulting in losses exceeding $100 million : Protocol architecture will once again be in focus. While I am not happy about this, the rapid growth of this sector, the influx of participants into yield projects, and the current trend of protocols taking shortcuts make such incidents highly likely. We have strived to build the most secure on-chain asset management architecture, but we are still shocked to witness a large amount of funds being deposited into a vault that is essentially just a multisignature wallet.
The first Bitcoin Layer 2 tokens have launched : Despite limited attention and a still-confused narrative, several teams are working behind the scenes to advance Bitcoin Layer 2. Their launch will challenge the notion that "BTC is just a meme coin or an outdated coin."
The first non-US dollar stablecoins have been adopted : while the British pound stablecoin may go unnoticed, the Swiss franc or Singapore dollar stablecoin will be a different story. This direction is worth exploring further.
Rollups rely on app competition : "General Rollups" without a killer app will struggle in the battle for trading volume.
AI replaces community and social media as the channel for asset discovery : the popularity of the Meme coin community has peaked.
Traditional NFTs are not expected to recover next year : however, the use of ERC721 standard assets for tokenization is expected to increase, even if it's just Pokémon trading cards.
A well-known celebrity issued creator tokens on the Base blockchain, only to be quickly forgotten : these creator tokens will likely repeat the trajectory of Meme Coin and Friend.tech. When early holders begin to lose money, a negative flywheel effect will hinder the long-term sustainability of the current ecosystem.
Mainstream issuers are developing custom Uniswap v4 liquidity pools and taking control of liquidity : initially focusing on real-world assets (RWA) and compliance (KYC) use cases.
Exchanges and other integrators are vying to recommend on-chain products because they have already figured out ways to monetize them (own chains, their own stablecoins, revenue sharing with partners, etc.).
"Future Governance" replaces "Retrospective Funding ": This is achieved through a launch platform that works in tandem with campaign platforms such as Butter.
Token issuance is on the rise again : With regulatory support and better launch platforms, more teams will be willing to issue tokens. While this depends in part on asset prices in 2026, we should also see teams issuing tokens through future governance platforms as an early-stage fundraising method.
The "proxy representation" model is declining : the power of DAOs and their proxy representatives will shrink significantly as they will no longer be a legal necessity. Agreements that are not irreversible and tied to the DAO model will gain a competitive advantage in the growth momentum.
Cyber nations issuing real assets and becoming a focal point in the crypto space (lasting about a week) : Whether through real estate ownership or token issuance, the time is ripe for the next step of exploration.
AI vulnerability detection tools are showing initial success : the first tools capable of independently discovering smart contract vulnerabilities have emerged, but they still cannot replace auditing. Teams that rely entirely on AI auditing will suffer losses.
One or two major prediction market betting categories disappear : insider incentives leading to market unfairness are exposed, and platforms will either self-regulate or accept external supervision.
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