🔥 A Roundup of 10 KOLs' Outlook for the Crypto Industry in 2026 As 2025 draws to a close, the crypto world after the bubble bursts is even more anticipated. We've compiled the key trend predictions for 2026 from 10 active crypto KOLs, which may offer some insights. 👇 1️⃣ Colin Wu Blockchain@colinwu In 2026, prediction markets and stock tokenization may be hot sectors, despite high compliance barriers, they offer significant potential. As the industry enters more complex phases, privacy, AI+blockchain, stablecoins, and payments remain areas to watch. 2️⃣ XHunt & Biteye founder @DeFiTeddy2020 Crypto is not dead, and there are three definite opportunities in 2026: First, the US is shifting towards a more favorable stance on crypto regulation, with the Clarity Act potentially bringing institutional benefits; second, on-chain finance is accelerating its penetration into traditional finance; and third, AI agents are combining with blockchain. Ultimately, the only way forward for crypto remains to build real-world product-factory (PMF) products, while also paying attention to seven potential black swan events. 3️⃣ DeFi OG Chen Mo @cmdefi Crypto is entering an era of "token-based incentive linkage." Only projects that can link tokens with protocol revenue and network effects will have a future; otherwise, they will be eliminated. 4️⃣ Day1Global podcast founder @starzq Based on the opinions of institutions and KOLs, the key technology trends for 2026 have been summarized into 11 major directions, with cryptocurrencies listed alongside infrastructure, AI, and biotechnology, including highlights such as BTC/ETH/SOL reaching new highs, hundreds of ETFs, and the GENIUS Act. 5️⃣ KOL Crypto Monkey Bro @monkeyjiang The 2026 World Cup has been suggested as a potential catalyst for a boom in the market for predictions, and Polymarket may replicate the wealth effect of BNB and PUMP. The active and massive Chinese-language market will be key to Polymarket's growth. 6️⃣ Galaxy Research Director Alex Thorn @intangiblecoins The Bitcoin options market has a very wide expected range, reflecting high uncertainty in 2026. In the long term, as BTC matures and volatility decreases, it is becoming a gold-like inflation hedge, with institutional adoption continuing to increase, and is expected to reach $250,000 by the end of 2027. 7️⃣ Raoul Pal, founder of Real Vision @RaoulGMI The real opportunities lie in long-term adoption and a surge in liquidity. It's advisable to extend the investment horizon, hold quality assets, and avoid investing based on "borrowed beliefs." Zcash is considered the last token that could potentially increase 100 times in value. 8️⃣ Paul Veradittakit, Managing Partner of Pantera Capital @veradittakit Nine key trends predicted for 2026 include RWA growth, AI security applications, prediction market mergers and acquisitions, widespread adoption of AI trading assistants, stablecoin pilots, continued expansion of stablecoins and perpetual contracts, a surge in crypto IPOs, accelerated institutional macro-level deployments, and digital asset treasury consolidation. 9️⃣ Tomasz Tunguz, founder of Theory Ventures @ttunguz 2026 will be a year of accelerated AI adoption: for the first time, corporate investment in AI agents will exceed human resource costs; large-scale IPOs and mergers and acquisitions will emerge; budget management will become more stringent; and open-source solutions will gain popularity. Stablecoins will account for 30% of global payments, and Cloudflare may become a core payment hub. AI is transforming from a tool into production infrastructure, comprehensively reshaping the business ecosystem. 10 Investor @0xJeff Amidst a dramatic reshuffle, seven major trends are emerging in 2026: the prediction market is booming, conservative strategies are gaining popularity, crypto narratives are fading and returning to fundamentals, security tokens are on the rise, consumer-oriented products are becoming the main battleground, the value of "storytelling" is being reassessed, and the entire industry is becoming more professional. ⭐️ Summary: 1. The bubble is being squeezed out, and whether a project is sustainable and whether it truly creates value is becoming the new evaluation criterion. 2. AI, stablecoins, and prediction markets represent structural opportunities. 3. Institutional funds are still flowing in, investing in areas with clear compliance and stable cash flow, such as stablecoins, RWA, and crypto IPOs. 4. Black swan risks remain, and no narrative is entirely certain. What are your thoughts on this? Feel free to leave a comment and discuss! 👏

Let's work hard together in 2026!