The growing adoption of “hybrid finance” has positioned 2026 as a year in which crypto assets are expected to consolidate more firmly into mainstream financial infrastructure, according to CoinShares.
CoinShares’ 2026 outlook states that the merging of crypto ecosystems with traditional financial systems has moved from pilot projects to large-scale issuances.
“Many expect an explicit macro catalyst in 2026, certainly a fresh liquidity impulse from the Federal Reserve. That may come, but the more important story is adoption,” said Jean-Marie Mognetti, CEO at CoinShares.
Looking ahead, the report highlights the further normalisation of cryptocurrency, the continued entrenchment of Bitcoin in the mainstream, stablecoins becoming a global payment rail and tokenisation being led by yield-bearing RWAs.
2025 has seen significant signs of adoption from the world’s largest institutional players, with the report noting that BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has issued tokenised funds on public blockchains, JP Morgan has launched tokenised deposits on Ethereum and the US government has held Bitcoin in a strategic reserve.
However, Matthew Kimmell, digital assets analyst at CoinShares, believes that barriers still remain for Bitcoin adoption, mostly due to the process and intermediation of traditional finance.
“Given that the US administration and agency leadership will basically remain the same, meaning that adverse government action is unlikely, my expectations are mostly set by what progress I think the private sector can practically make in one year’s time,” said Kimmell.
Kimmell predicts that in 2026 the US Treasury announces how much bitcoin supply is held in strategic reserve, and that the four major US wirehouses – Morgan Stanley, Merrill, UBS, Wells Fargo – formally open solicited Bitcoin ETF allocations within discretionary portfolios.
Four sectors are expected to be key in 2026: AI and crypto, RWAs, Bitcoin infrastructure and retail investment platforms.
Tokenisation and stablecoins are set to continue growing, AI-crypto applications are accelerating, retail on-chain investment platforms are disrupting early-stage fundraising and VC interest in Bitcoin infrastructure is rising.
Jurisdictional competition – notably Europe versus the US – will shape tokenisation adoption, while investor appetite across all four sectors remains strong.
“Two years ago, there was a lot of activity around Bitcoin L2s. Now, we’re seeing a resurgence in interest in extending the utility, and most importantly the security aspects of Bitcoin to build new markets on it,” Jonathan King, senior manager, investments, said in the report.
