The era of cryptocurrency infrastructure is coming: a16z outlines 17 major development directions for the industry by 2026

a16z’s crypto division recently released a long-term industry plan, outlining 17 priority areas for the crypto sector by 2026. This annual guiding framework, called the “Big Ideas,” is better described as a product roadmap for developers rather than just a vision list — with a clear goal: to shift crypto from transaction-driven to infrastructure-driven.

Privacy Becomes a Competitive Edge

In a16z’s view, privacy is not just an embellishment but the core competitive advantage of future crypto networks. As real economic activities, payroll settlements, and financial services begin to occur on-chain, users and institutions will demand privacy protections far beyond current blockchain transparency standards. This means we will see increased investment in privacy computing, zero-knowledge proofs, and related technologies, with privacy integrated into the foundational architecture from the outset.

Stablecoins Redefining Internet Finance

The significance of stablecoins goes beyond replacing cash in wallets. a16z believes stablecoins will evolve into bank-level settlement layers, enabling applications to directly integrate payments, yields, and clearing functions, eliminating traditional financial intermediaries. This “Internet as a bank” model is not just marketing hype but an architectural evolution — once stablecoins and tokenized assets reach sufficient scale and regulatory clarity, everyday applications will be able to offer banking, custody, payments, and yield services without repeatedly bypassing traditional financial layers.

This is the fundamental shift from “crypto as assets” to “crypto as infrastructure,” as a16z describes.

Reshaping the Certification System: From KYC to KYA

Traditional Know Your Customer (KYC) frameworks are becoming ineffective. As automated agents and smart contracts begin to trade on behalf of users, regulatory and risk management logic must shift from personal identity verification to agent evaluation — this is what a16z calls the KYA (Know Your Agent) framework. The focus of assessment moves from individual identity to the logic, reputation, and constraints of the agent. This shift will impact the entire chain, from custody policies to on-chain dispute resolution.

AI and Crypto: Synergistic Effects

AI is both a tool and a challenge in this plan. On one hand, AI can handle deep research tasks; on the other, it erodes content creators’ revenue streams — AI crawlers extract, summarize, and trade content, depriving creators of traditional advertising and subscription income. Solutions are both technical and economic: micro-payments, micro-contribution records, and new content sponsorship models aim to redistribute value among AI agents, creators, and platforms.

Tokenizing Real Assets: From Theory to Practice

RWA (Real-World Asset) tokenization has long been a concept, but by 2026, it aims to become “crypto-native.” This is not about simply overlaying traditional financial assets onto blockchain but designing trading mechanisms that allow markets to naturally price and exchange these assets with minimal friction.

Regulatory Framework: The Final Mile

Technology is now sufficiently mature, and product design has direction, but the lack of regulatory frameworks remains a bottleneck. Tokenized banking functions, regulated stablecoins, and privacy-preserving institutional custody — whether these can move from experimentation to large-scale adoption depends on whether laws and policies can keep pace with technological advances.

a16z notes at the end of the report that if crypto is to become a true internet infrastructure layer, legal and regulatory adaptation is the final and most critical step.

The Look of 2026

Summarizing a16z’s 17 propositions, by 2026 the crypto industry will be less speculative and more constructive. A more stable payment and settlement layer, a new economy for creators in the AI era, and financial systems prioritizing privacy — these mark the inflection point from hype cycles to infrastructure building. The question is whether developers can complete this roadmap and whether regulators can expand the space for scaling. The answers will be revealed in 2026.