12 Predictions for Crypto in 2026

2026 Predictions

• More chains from last cycle will continue to bleed out, but one will emerge with a successful pivot (cosmos/polkadot/algorand/avalanche/polygon)

• A handful of Alt L1's who tried to compete with Solana will transition to becoming EVM L2's and still won't find real pmf.

• Aave will expand to Solana

• Retail crypto payments will be completely taken over (currently basically non-existent anyway) by Arc/Circle or Square/Tempo. Major credit cards like Visa/Mastercard will allow payments to be made in stables (USDC) as well.

• The big banks in the USA will issue their own stablecoins, all causing fragmentation and confusion for retail consumers.

• Custom branded stablecoins for companies will replace points systems within loyalty programs. You will gain rewards by holding their stablecoin instead.

• Zcash will implement Crosslink, opening up a hybrid POW/POS system and provide more options for $ZEC onchain to stake, borrow/lend.

• Privacy will continue to be a big trend, and @solana will be the first to really implement usable default options within DeFi and wallets.

• The market structure bill will face some hiccups, but pass in Feb.

• Alts will recover a little, but more from rising tides. They won't get back to December 2024 levels, but some will 2-5x from here. Most of us will bag hold them and miss selling.

• Too many perps dex's and prediction markets will launch, with most never getting pmf. One new perps dex will stand out on Solana.

• More crypto mullets will emerge with blockchain under the hood, but will look like a web2 apps that most people don't realize or need to know has anything to do with crypto.

Price predictions:

$BTC breaks $165k (possible flush out down to $65k before this can happen)

$ETH breaks $5k

$SOL breaks $400

$ZCASH breaks $1k

$HYPE touches $70 but stalls

$BNB breaks $1500.