7 Major Crypto Trends and Lessons to Know in 2026

Author: 0xJeff; Compilation: Deep潮TechFlow

The year 2025 is filled with unprecedented turbulence and change. We welcome a US president who is reportedly supportive of cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence. However, the market in 2025 did not usher in the anticipated bull run; instead, it became the “year of slaughter” for the entire industry.

• Most altcoins experienced 80%-99% crashes in 2025
• Bitcoin’s market cap share returned to 2019-2020 levels (over 60%), outperforming most coins
• Ethereum (ETH) trading prices are similar to those in 2022
• The altcoin market is highly fragmented (with 40 million to 50 million tokens)
• Despite continuous positive news within the industry (such as clearer regulatory frameworks, ETF approvals, enterprise adoption of blockchain technology, institutional investments in BTC, ETH, and altcoins), the stock market’s performance in 2025 completely overshadowed the crypto market

Despite the pain and turbulence, 2025 is still regarded by many as the industry’s “year of maturity,” but it also saw a large number of practitioners and investors exit.

So, for those who still remain committed to the crypto space, here are the key points you must understand before 2026 arrives:

Let’s dive in ↓

Market Forecast: A Versatile Trading Tool

Prediction markets became one of the fastest-growing verticals in 2025 — weekly nominal trading volume first reached $3.8 billion, with Polymarket, Kalshi, and Opinion leading the platform landscape.

Although debates about whether “prediction markets are equivalent to gambling” continue, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) considers them as event contracts or binary options based on real-world event outcomes. CFTC’s innovation-friendly stance, combined with increasing market demand for betting/prediction, drove rapid growth in prediction market trading volume in 2025.

From a trading tool perspective, prediction markets demonstrate great flexibility. They can be viewed as a more user-friendly options tool (though liquidity remains somewhat lacking).

You can leverage trading on any market, place “yes/no” directional bets, use them as hedging tools (by holding spot positions elsewhere), or execute delta-neutral strategies (by evenly distributing “yes/no” shares in the market) to earn profits and potential airdrop rewards.

Cash-Backed Put Options and Covered Call Options

These two options strategies are very suitable for investors seeking a more conservative approach to managing their investments.

Instead of directly buying or quickly selling altcoins during price declines, you can generate cash flow by selling call or put options. If the price hits a certain target, you can choose to buy low or sell your altcoins; if not, you keep your principal.

This strategy is one of the best ways to generate high annualized yields (APR) on your altcoins or stablecoins.

The only caveat is that your principal will be locked for a period (usually 3-5 weeks), but you will receive the option premium immediately when selling call or put options.

Narrative Fatigue + Equity vs Token = Return to Fundamentals

The pace of market narrative rotation has accelerated significantly — hot topics that once lasted weeks or even months now only last a few days at most.

The crypto community (CT) is shifting from chasing narratives to focusing on real fundamentals (such as user numbers, revenue, growth metrics). The market is more inclined to evaluate indicators of genuine business performance and clarify the value transfer relationship between the project and its token.

However, this year, in the battle between equity and tokens, we witnessed too much chaos, especially in the M&A field:

• Pumpfun acquired Padre (a trading tool), but completely blindsided Padre’s token holders. After the acquisition announcement, PADRE tokens plummeted 50%-80%, triggering strong community backlash. Pumpfun promised to airdrop PUMP tokens based on the pre-acquisition PADRE holdings to calm the community.
• Circle acquired Axelar but also ignored Axelar’s token holders. After the acquisition, AXL tokens sharply declined. What’s next remains uncertain, but the community is already furious (and rightly so).

The disputes between equity and token holders are intensifying, leading us to a deeper question…

Market-Governance Organizations and Ownership Tokens

MetaDAO launched a fair, transparent, and manipulation-proof ICO platform characterized by high liquidity, a relatively low fully diluted valuation (FDV) structure, and no VC or private allocations. It also introduced mechanisms such as performance-based team unlocks and potential fund recovery features.

This structure grants token holders real ownership, control, and aligned interests, effectively addressing issues like project founders fleeing, token dumps, shady operations, and improper acquisitions.

Colosseum (an independent organization accelerating the Solana ecosystem) recently launched “STAMP” (Simple Token Agreement, a market protection mechanism), a new investment contract designed to integrate private VC funding with the public MetaDAO ICO, ensuring investor rights and on-chain governance alignment.

The MetaDAO model has given rise to a new category: “ownership tokens,” which are projects launched via MetaDAO ICOs. Many projects that have gone live performed strongly — for example, Umbra, Omnipair, and Avici saw high demand during their fundraising, with tokens significantly outperforming the market in 2025.

Through the MetaDAO approach, token holders’ importance is elevated—they truly have a voice and own a stake in the project. Revenue and fees are no longer directed solely to equity holders but directly benefit token holders.

The trend of market governance organizations and ownership tokens is likely to continue into 2026, intertwining with upcoming developments…

The Rise of Tokenized Securities

On-chain liquidity remains limited, and market participants are increasingly focusing on fundamentals, revenue, buybacks, and real value. Meanwhile, enterprises are adopting stablecoins, and more institutions are investing capital into crypto. Recently, securities tokenization (Tokenized Securities) has become easier and more feasible than ever, especially for regulated institutions.

On December 11, 2025, a significant regulatory breakthrough occurred in the securities tokenization space. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a “No-Action Letter,” explicitly stating it would not take enforcement action against DTCC (the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation) subsidiary DTC’s pilot securities tokenization program. The pilot includes tokenization of Russell 1000 index components, US Treasuries, and major ETFs.

This mechanism, during its pilot phase (starting in late 2026 for three years), will enable compliant centralized tokenization operations via DTC, guiding activities into regulated infrastructure rather than fully decentralized alternatives.

This means that from 2026 onward, we will see more securities tokenization projects, which will increase demand for tokenized stocks and accelerate the integration of traditional finance (TradFi) with decentralized finance (DeFi).

Consumer Crypto Products and Perpetual Contracts Become the Core of Crypto

In 2025, consumer-oriented crypto products and perpetual contracts (Perps) became the industry’s key hotspots:

• Pumpfun peaked in 2024-2025
• Virtuals adopted a similar model but integrated new AI smart agent narratives
• Zora also experimented in content tokens and gained Jesse’s support
• Collectibles, Fantasy Football, and Prediction Markets gained huge popularity in 2025

These are all consumer-focused products that allow crypto natives to enjoy the experience and also attract non-crypto users (such as prediction market participants) to earn profits while having fun.

Crypto itself is like a game, and trading is entertainment. Therefore, innovative consumer products that effectively combine both tend to stand out.

Perpetual contracts (Perps) also have similar appeal, as they allow users to make precise bets on asset price movements.

If you follow key metrics of prediction markets and perpetual contracts, you’ll notice they both hit all-time highs (ATH) in 2025. Data seems to be “shouting” that product-market fit (PMF) in crypto is emerging: prediction markets’ weekly nominal trading volume reached $3.8 billion, and weekly perpetual contract trading volume soared to $340 billion (monthly trading volume $1.3 trillion, a record high).

This explains why platforms like Hyperliquid, Lighter, Aster, Polymarket, and Opinion are so popular. Massive activity, huge demand, and capital flows translate directly into higher valuations and more airdrop rewards.

Consumer crypto products also hold great potential, but in 2025, we haven’t yet seen truly sustainable consumer crypto products. Sportsdotfun (SDF) showed promising early growth and is currently raising community funds on Legion and Kraken. The future of this sector remains uncertain, but the prospects are exciting.

From this, we learn that if you want to find your advantage in this market, you should either invest in platforms (like prediction markets, perpetual contracts, consumer crypto products) or actively participate in these categories:

• Learn how to trade perpetual contracts
• Make predictions in prediction markets
• Use consumer crypto products

By practicing these, you can better understand the market and find your competitive edge. Otherwise…

You Can Become a “Storyteller”

Yes, now The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Silicon Valley, and various tech practitioners are all embracing the role of “Storyteller.” Many startups are opening positions for “Storytellers.”

In crypto, this has long been commonplace. We have “talkers” (Yappers), key opinion leaders (KOLs), and storytellers who have been discussing projects and helping build crypto communities for years (even before Kaito introduced the “talker” concept).

But now, it seems the whole world is beginning to realize the importance of having the right narrative and conveying brand, product, and positioning in the right way.

However, the role of the storyteller goes far beyond just “talking.” Currently, many “talkers” simply copy-paste content to “show presence,” rather than truly learning and understanding what they discuss.

This creates opportunities for those who genuinely understand the industry, possess expertise, or are curious to learn — whether in the crypto community (CT) or broader fields.

Skilled storytellers can expand their personal brand influence and ultimately gain the freedom of choice: they can choose to develop independently or be “acqui-hired” by startups and projects that align with their brand.

In 2025, we have already seen successful cases of this dynamic. For example, Kalshi recruited well-known figures from the crypto community, and some crypto projects built strong brand images and attracted more users through close partnerships and ambassador programs (like sharing badges).

If you are good at storytelling, then this era is your stage!