Digital assets embrace the era of practicality: How will 2026 reshape the industry landscape

By 2026, the digital asset industry will face a profound narrative shift. According to the recent “2026 Outlook” report released by CoinShares, a leading European digital asset investment management firm, the industry is bidding farewell to the era of pure speculation and beginning to embrace a new order driven by practical value and cash flow.

Founded in 2014 with headquarters in London and Paris, CoinShares manages over $6 billion in assets. Its latest 77-page report provides an in-depth analysis of key topics such as macroeconomic fundamentals, Bitcoin mainstreaming, the rise of hybrid finance, platform competition, and regulatory evolution, painting a picture of the industry landscape in 2026.

From Speculative Narratives to Practical Value: A Turning Point Has Arrived

2025 marks a watershed moment. Bitcoin hit a new all-time high, but more importantly, there was a shift in industry mindset—digital assets are no longer trying to establish an independent system parallel to traditional finance but are beginning to embrace integration and upgrades with the existing financial system.

The report notes that the integration of public blockchains, institutional liquidity, regulatory market structures, and real economic use cases is progressing faster than optimistic expectations. In 2026, this transformation will accelerate, with real-world applications becoming the core of value driving.

Opportunities for Bitcoin Mainstreaming in the Private Sector

The US achieved several structural breakthroughs in 2025: approval of spot ETFs, maturation of options markets, lifting of retirement plan restrictions, and establishment of a government strategic reserve. However, actual adoption remains constrained by traditional financial processes.

CoinShares expects key progress in the private sector in 2026: major brokerages opening Bitcoin ETF allocations, at least one 401(k) provider allowing Bitcoin allocations, at least two S&P 500 companies holding Bitcoin, and leading custodial banks offering direct custody services.

Meanwhile, the share of the US dollar in global foreign exchange reserves dropped from 70% in 2000 to around 50%. The diversification needs of emerging market central banks create structural tailwinds for Bitcoin as a non-sovereign store of value.

Macroeconomics: Soft Landing on Thin Ice

The report outlines three economic scenarios:

Optimistic scenario: soft landing plus productivity surprises could push Bitcoin above $150,000.
Baseline scenario: slow expansion with Bitcoin trading between $110,000 and $140,000.
Bear market scenario: recession or stagflation, with Bitcoin falling to $70,000–$100,000.

Overall, the economy in 2026 may avoid recession but experience weak growth. Inflation eases but not decisively; the Federal Reserve is expected to cautiously cut rates to the mid-3% range.

Hybrid Finance: From Theory to Reality

The stablecoin market exceeds $300 billion, with Tether accounting for 60% and Circle for 25%. More notably, stablecoins have become a bridge for enterprise adoption—Siemens saved 50% on foreign exchange costs through stablecoins, reducing settlement times from days to seconds.

The total value of tokenized assets (RWA) surged from $15 billion at the start of 2025 to $35 billion. Private credit and US Treasury tokenization are growing fastest, with BlackRock’s BUIDL fund and JPMorgan’s JPMD demonstrating institutional tokenization potential.

Even more critically, an increasing number of on-chain protocols are generating hundreds of millions of dollars annually and distributing profits to token holders. Hyperliquid uses 99% of its revenue for daily buybacks, while Uniswap and Lido have launched similar mechanisms—tokens are transforming from pure speculative assets into quasi-equity assets.

Differentiated Competition Among Smart Contract Platforms

Ethereum is expanding through Layer-2 roadmap implementations, increasing throughput from 200 TPS to 4,800 TPS, with a proliferation of institutional tokenization applications.

Solana is rising with its high-performance advantage, with stablecoin supply exceeding $1.2 billion (up from $180 million in January 2024), RWA projects accelerating expansion, and BlackRock’s BUIDL fund inflows reaching $250 million.

Next-generation high-performance chains like Sui, Aptos, Sei, and Hyperliquid compete through architectural differentiation, but market fragmentation remains severe. EVM compatibility is gradually becoming a competitive advantage.

Regulation: From Decentralized to Systematized

The EU’s MiCA framework has built the most comprehensive legal structure for crypto assets globally, covering issuance, custody, trading, and stablecoins. The US advances stablecoin compliance through the GENIUS Act, requiring issuers to hold US Treasury reserves. Asian regions (Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, etc.) are forming regulatory groups around Basel III’s crypto capital requirements.

A clear regulatory framework lays the foundation for large-scale institutional adoption.

Corporate Holdings and Liquidity Risks

Public companies’ Bitcoin holdings surged from 266,000 in 2024 to 1,048,000, with total value rising from $11.7 billion to $90.7 billion. However, high concentration (Strategy accounts 61%, top ten control 84%) poses risks—if Strategy cannot fund or refinance debt, forced sales of Bitcoin could trigger a sell-off.

Meanwhile, the development of the IBIT options market has reduced Bitcoin volatility, signaling maturity, but may also weaken convertible bond demand, impacting corporate purchasing power.

Mining Industry Transformation: From Single to Diversified

Public miners increased their hash rate by 110 EH/s in 2025 and announced HPC contracts worth $65 billion. By the end of 2026, Bitcoin mining revenue share is expected to fall below 20%, while HPC operations will achieve profit margins of 80–90%.

Future mining models will be led by ASIC manufacturers, modular mining, intermittent mining, and sovereign national miners. Long-term, small-scale decentralized operations may re-emerge.

Emerging Market Prediction Markets

Polymarket’s weekly trading volume during the 2024 US election exceeded $800 million, with proven prediction accuracy—about 60% of 60% probability events occur, and about 77–82% of 80% probability events occur. In October 2025, ICE made a $2 billion strategic investment, marking mainstream financial recognition. Weekly trading volume could surpass $2 billion in 2026.

Revival of Venture Capital

Crypto VC funding reached $18.8 billion in 2025, surpassing the full-year 2024 total of $16.5 billion. Large deals like Polymarket’s $2 billion, Stripe’s Tempo’s $500 million, and Kalshi’s $300 million drove industry recovery.

In 2026, VC focus will be on four main areas: RWA tokenization, AI and crypto integration, retail investment platforms, and Bitcoin infrastructure.

Key Insights

CoinShares’ report sends a clear signal: the digital asset industry is maturing. Moving from speculative narratives to practical value, from fragmentation to integration, from fringe to mainstream, 2026 will be a pivotal year for this transformation.

Embracing practicality, focusing on cash flow, and prioritizing regulatory compliance will become the consensus among investors and builders in 2026. Projects and platforms that can translate technological advantages into real economic applications will garner more attention in this new order.