Cryptocurrencies in 2026: Six Crypto Market Theories for the Coming Year

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: Cryptocurrencies in 2026: Six Theses from MB | Mercado Bitcoin for the Next Year Original Link: As 2026 approaches, a cryptocurrency trading platform released on Monday the trends expected to shape the cryptocurrency market in the coming year. In its report “Trends 2026: 6 Crypto Market Theses to Help You Organize Your Investments,” the platform highlights promising themes, including the advancement of Bitcoin, the expansion of stablecoins, the growth of altcoin ETFs, and the increase in tokenized assets volume.

According to platform executives, 2026 should solidify a new stage for the industry. “We see more mature institutional adoption, technologies unlocking new capital flows, and products connecting the crypto market more directly to the traditional financial system,” they state. The result of this scenario is “a larger, more efficient ecosystem with an increasingly measurable impact on the global financial system.”

The six trends mapped for 2026:

1) Bitcoin will reach at least 14% of the gold market

Bitcoin is establishing itself as a modern alternative store of value and is gaining ground precisely where gold faces limitations. While the metal depends on transportation, custody, and the entire physical infrastructure that accompanies it, Bitcoin is digital native, accessible, and extremely agile, in addition to being able to be sent at any time, borderless, and stored by the investor themselves.

This combination of efficiency and simplicity helps boost the cryptocurrency’s participation in a historically gold-dominated market. It is estimated that Bitcoin will reach at least 14% of gold’s market capitalization by 2026, more than doubling the current share of around 6%.

2) Stablecoin market will reach half a trillion dollars

Known for connecting traditional money to the crypto universe, stablecoins have expanded their uses, acting as a means of payment and enabling resource transfers in seconds between people and companies across various countries.

This movement caused the stablecoin market, between 2024 and 2025, to stop depending on crypto cycles and start growing on its own. The total volume of assets traded by investors tripled in the last year. The trend continues in the same direction, with estimates that the category will reach around US$ 500 billion in 2026, a growth of over 60% compared to current levels, driven by regulation in the US, expanded use cases, and global adoption.

3) Altcoin ETFs will attract more than US$ 10 billion

In the second half of 2025, the United States began approving ETFs for cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) signaled approval for this type of product. As a result, ETFs for XRP, LINK, LTC, DOGE, SOL, and others started entering the market.

Today, XRP funds already total around US$ 1 billion under management, while Solana funds reach approximately US$ 600 million. Including smaller products, the segment moves nearly US$ 1.8 billion. This market is expected to reach US$ 10 billion by the end of next year, more than five times its current size, mainly driven by XRP and Solana, which are expected to account for about 80% of inflows.

4) Tokenized assets volume will increase by 200%

The tokenization model is already applied in sectors such as real estate, corporate credit, government bonds, and others, allowing an asset to be transformed into a tradable token at any time, with quick settlement and full traceability.

In 2025, the European Union advanced in regulation of tokenization by allowing banks to operate larger volumes on permissioned networks. In the US, blockchain was recognized as a valid means to record and transfer tokenized assets, unlocking projects that had been stalled. With these advances, the global volume of tokenized assets is expected to increase by 200% in 2026 and surpass US$ 54 billion.

5) Predictive markets segment will be the fastest-growing in the crypto world

Predictive markets allow trading probabilities of future events such as elections, sports results, or economic indicators, reflecting the collective consensus on what is most likely to happen. It is projected that capital allocated to the sector will reach at least US$ 20 billion by the end of 2026, a growth of over 25 times compared to 2025.

This exponential growth is linked to key catalysts: in 2026, major events such as the World Cup and presidential elections in various countries will occur, along with the strengthening of new prediction markets like climate and entertainment, reinforcing the expansion of this segment.

6) Trading volume by AI agents will quadruple

The integration of AI into blockchains has ceased to be an isolated trend and has become a strategic movement for the coming years, driven by the need for identifiable agents capable of having their history accessed and able to perform micropayments via blockchain.

Standards like x402 and ERC-8004 are already aiming to meet these requirements and, although still recent, are expected to push the transacted volume past US$ 1 million by the end of 2026, more than four times the current level. This technology enables fast, secure micropayments for news, gaming, digital content, on-chain trading, and AI services, increasing revenues, reducing intermediaries, and making blockchains more efficient.