By compiling annual research reports from more than 20 investment research institutions worldwide, we can see that sectors such as macroeconomic trends, AI payments, stablecoins, RWA, prediction markets, privacy, the Bitcoin ecosystem, DePIN, compliance, GameFi, and SocialFi are receiving significant attention.
Article author: 0x9999in1
Article source: ME News
In 2026, the main narrative of the Web3 field is gradually taking shape. By summarizing the annual research reports from over 20 investment research institutions worldwide, we can see that sectors such as macroeconomic trends, AI payments, stablecoins, RWA, prediction markets, privacy, the Bitcoin ecosystem, DePIN, compliance, GameFi, and SocialFi are receiving significant attention. The following content will present the core viewpoints from the original research report summaries.
Track: Macroeconomic Trends
Standard Chartered: "Investor Report"
$200,000: Bitcoin is expected to reach the $200,000 target by the end of 2025 to the beginning of 2026, driven by regulatory normalization and continued ETF inflows.
Bernstein: "Global Digital Assets Strategy"
$500 billion in assets under management: By 2026, the assets under management (AUM) of cryptocurrency funds will grow from the current tens of billions to $500 billion-$650 billion.
Bitwise: "The Year Ahead"
Breaking the four-year cycle: 2026 is predicted to be a bull market year, with Bitcoin breaking the traditional "four-year halving cycle" theory and reaching new highs.
Grayscale: "2026 Digital Asset Outlook"
The Institutional Era: 2026 will accelerate the structural shift in digital asset investment; Bitcoin prices may reach new highs in the first half of the year.
JP Morgan: "2026 Market Outlook"
Alternatives to the dollar: Digital assets will gain more favor, partly because the market is looking for alternatives to the dollar and a store of value.
VanEck: (DL News Interview)
Industry consolidation: In 2026, the digital asset sector will see consolidation rather than a simple surge or crash, and the market will enter a mature stage.
Fortune Business: "Web 3.0 Market Size"
Rapid growth: The global Web3 market is poised for explosive growth, with the Asia-Pacific region expected to see the fastest growth due to its high wallet adoption rate.
Track: AI Payment
a16z crypto: "Big Ideas 2026"
AI payment closed loop: AI agents will be able to pay each other data or API fees without permission, completely changing the payment flow.
Messari: "Crypto Theses 2026"
Agentic Commerce: Infrastructure is converging with encrypted payments, and AI agent-driven business transactions are poised for explosive growth.
Bitwise: "The Year Ahead"
AI Yield Maximization: The AI Agent will lead the on-chain yield strategy and automatically adjust the strategy to maximize yield.
Pantera Capital: "12 Predictions for 2026"
AI as the interface: transaction loops completed by AI intermediaries will become the mainstream.
Track: Stablecoins
Galaxy Research: "2026 Annual Forecast"
Surpassing ACH: Stablecoin trading volume may officially surpass that of the US interbank ACH (Automated Clearing House) system in 2026.
21Shares: (Market Forecast)
Trillion-dollar scale: The circulation of stablecoins will exceed $1 trillion in 2026, and banks and payment giants will fully integrate them.
Coinbase: "2026 Crypto Market Outlook"
The number one use case: Stablecoins have solidified their position as the "number one use case" in the crypto ecosystem, especially in cross-border payments.
a16z crypto：《6 trends for 2026》
Payment innovation: Stablecoin transaction volume will surpass that of the traditional banking system, becoming a native value transfer layer of the Internet.
Track: RWA
Franklin Templeton: "Next Phase of Capital Markets"
Tokenization of everything: 2026 is a pivotal year for money market funds to transition to more complex assets (private equity, bonds).
Citibank: "GPS: Money, Tokens, and Games"
Private assets on the blockchain: By 2026, the tokenization of private markets will begin to grow exponentially.
BCG: "On-Chain Asset Tokenization"
Asset unlocking: Tokenized illiquid assets will unlock trillions of dollars in value, and circulation regulations will be introduced in the first major jurisdictions.
CoinDCX: "Future of Crypto 2026"
Macro assetization: RWA tokenization will create new tradable narratives and become an important part of the on-chain ecosystem.
Prediction Market
Coinbase: "2026 Crypto Market Outlook"
The era of aggregators: Predicting the emergence of market aggregators that will consolidate billions of dollars in weekly transaction volume and become new traffic portals.
Bitwise: "The Year Ahead"
Beyond Election Year: Polymarket's open interest and activity are set to surpass all previous highs, exceeding those of the 2024 election period.
Pantera Capital: "12 Predictions for 2026"
Market differentiation: The market is predicted to evolve in two distinct directions: "serious financialization" and "popular humanization".
a16z crypto：《Crypto Trends 2026》
Smarter predictions: Prediction markets will be deeply integrated with blockchain and AI to provide more accurate probability signals.
Track: Privacy
a16z crypto: "Big Ideas 2026"
Privacy as a moat: Privacy technologies (such as ZK) will become the "most important moat" in the crypto space.
Galaxy Research: (DL News Interview)
Market capitalization of hundreds of billions: The market capitalization of privacy-related tokens is expected to exceed $100 billion by the end of 2026.
Grayscale: "2026 Digital Asset Outlook"
Demand-driven: As blockchain moves towards mainstream adoption, the demand for privacy solutions will increase significantly.
Track: Bitcoin Ecosystem
Binance Research: "Full Year 2026 Themes"
Bitcoin DeFiization: BTC will not only be a store of value, but also an interest-bearing asset.
Spartan Group: "Bitcoin L2 Report"
Programmability explosion: Smart contract applications based on the Bitcoin network will challenge Ethereum's share of DeFi.
Track: DePIN
Messari: "State of DePIN 2026"
Physical infrastructure: DePIN will be the only track that can attract non- crypto natives on a large scale.
IoTeX Research: "The Trillion Dollar Opportunity"
Machine economy: The number of wallets directly owned by machines will increase significantly for the first time, with devices autonomously paying network fees.
Track: Compliance
TRM Labs: "2026 Outlook Report"
Implementation of regulations: Regulatory agencies are no longer debating "whether" to regulate, but rather "how" to regulate proactively.
Chainalysis: "Crypto Crime Report Preview"
Compliance as a service: DeFi protocols will generally integrate "permission pools" to attract institutional funds, thus reducing the space for coin mixing services.
Track: GameFi
Delphi Digital: "Gaming & Consumer"
Mobile-first: There is no longer a "Web3 Games" category, only "Games Using Blockchain Technology", and the experience is on par with Web2.
Track: SocialFi
HashKey Capital: "2026 Investment Thesis"
Fan Economy Monetization: SocialFi will shift from mere hype to the substantial monetization of the fan economy, with KOL token standardization.
