RWAs, Perps, AI & Credit

Coinbase Ventures simply spotlighted the most important development traits for cryptocurrencies within the 12 months forward, however what are their 2026 crypto predictions? Discover out what lies forward and what critical cash is focusing on in 2026, from real-world belongings on-chain to AI-powered crypto instruments and new sorts of DeFi credit score. Whereas Bitcoin and majors commerce largely sideways, enterprise funding tells a special story, with crypto VC offers leaping to $4.65 billion in Q3 2025, the best since early 2023. That money now begins flowing into just a few clear themes that matter if you wish to know the place the subsequent large narratives may come from.

What Is Coinbase Ventures Betting On And Why Ought to You Care?

Coinbase Ventures is the funding arm of Coinbase, one of many largest regulated exchanges within the US, so its thesis provides a great snapshot of what large, good cash desires to fund subsequent. Its newest outlook singles out 4 essential zones: real-world belongings (RWAs) traded through perpetual futures, extra superior DeFi, prediction markets, and the intersection of AI, robotics, and blockchain. The workforce refers to this because the “perpification of every thing” as artificial markets increase to extra belongings.

RWAs sound technical, however the concept is straightforward: as an alternative of solely buying and selling cash, you commerce on-chain publicity to issues like US Treasuries, non-public firm shares, or commodities. Tokenized Treasuries already jumped from about $700 million to over $8 billion in two years, as establishments chase on-chain yield. Coinbase Ventures now leans into perpetual futures on these belongings, which perform like a perpetual guess on value, reasonably than proudly owning the underlying asset itself.

This suits neatly with Coinbase’s broader 2026 technique round tokenization and yield, which we lined in additional element in our Coinbase 2026 Outlook. The agency additionally doubled down on infrastructure with a $375 million acquisition of Echo to spice up token launches and RWA capabilities. For you, which means extra methods to entry traditional-style belongings and structured merchandise immediately from crypto rails, reasonably than via a financial institution.

On the DeFi aspect, Coinbase Ventures highlights perpetuals as “constructing blocks” that plug into lending protocols. Consider it like margin buying and selling constructed into DeFi cash markets: you retain a leveraged guess open whereas your collateral continues to earn yield. In addition they flag unsecured, credit-based lending as a major prize, aiming to convey a slice of the trillion-dollar off-chain credit score market on-chain utilizing extra correct id and threat fashions. That shifts DeFi from solely overcollateralized loans (posting $100 to borrow $50) towards one thing that resembles real-world bank cards and enterprise loans extra carefully.

The report additionally zooms in on trade design and prediction markets. New specialised exchanges concentrate on serving liquidity suppliers and superior merchants, reasonably than making an attempt to be every thing to everybody. Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi already host over $600 million in fragmented liquidity. Coinbase Ventures expects aggregators that route orders throughout a number of venues, just like how flight search engines like google and yahoo scan numerous airways to supply one of the best value.

Lastly, AI and robotics seem all through the thesis. Coinbase Ventures backs tasks that crowdsource high-quality knowledge to coach robots, instruments that confirm a consumer’s id to tell apart between people and AI brokers, and AI improvement instruments that write and audit good contracts. For freshmen, this issues as a result of it goals to make constructing safe crypto apps as simple as utilizing no-code web site builders. If that works, it lowers the barrier for brand spanking new groups and hastens the tempo of recent merchandise you possibly can really use.

DISCOVER: High 20 Crypto to Purchase in 2026

2026 Crypto Predictions: How May These Bets Form Your Crypto Technique in 2026?

When a giant VC arm like Coinbase Ventures publishes a roadmap, it does greater than speak; it steers the place founders construct and the place different buyers observe. RWAs, credit score DeFi, and perpetuals appeal to a rising share of VC {dollars} simply as speculative meme cash lose steam, echoing what we noticed in different 2026 outlooks and 2026 crypto reset calls. If you wish to keep early, you watch the place this cash clusters reasonably than chasing yesterday’s hype.

For an everyday investor, that doesn’t imply dashing to purchase each RWA or perp token you see. These sectors are early, usually illiquid, and full of complicated merchandise that behave very in a different way from spot Bitcoin. A safer strategy is to deal with this thesis as a map: find out about RWAs, on-chain Treasuries, prediction markets, and DeFi credit score, then measurement any bets small and experimental. Our instructional guides on matters resembling stablecoins, perpetual futures, and tokenized Treasuries can assist you construct a strong basis earlier than you threat actual cash.

The opposite clear sign: establishments will not be strolling away from crypto. Crypto VC funding bounced again to multi-billion quarterly ranges, and massive names like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton run competing RWA platforms. That doesn’t assure value features, but it surely exhibits that giant gamers deal with on-chain finance as a long-term guess, not a fad.

What Are the Dangers Behind Coinbase Ventures’ 2026 Crypto Thesis?

Perpetual futures, artificial RWAs, and unsecured credit score all carry actual blow-up threat. If you happen to commerce perpetuals, you face funding charges, liquidation threat, and good contract threat on high of value actions. Artificial RWA markets depend on dependable value feeds and trustworthy issuers; if these fail, merchants can lose every thing, even when the underlying real-world asset performs effectively.

Unsecured lending on-chain makes an attempt to duplicate the real-world credit score system, however flawed threat fashions can wipe out lenders rapidly, particularly throughout a pointy market downturn. Privateness tech, proof-of-humanity methods, and AI smart-contract tooling additionally sit in a regulatory grey space in lots of nations. Guidelines round KYC, knowledge, and securities legislation can reshape these merchandise in a single day.

So deal with Coinbase Ventures’ thesis as a high-level compass, not a purchasing checklist. Don’t make investments lease cash or emergency financial savings in experimental DeFi, RWA perps, or thinly traded prediction markets. Begin with schooling, then with tiny positions you possibly can afford to lose, and concentrate on respected venues and well-audited protocols whenever you resolve to get hands-on.

As 2026 kicks off, the loudest crypto narratives quietly shift from meme cash to on-chain credit score, RWAs, and AI-boosted infrastructure. If you happen to keep curious, skeptical, and measurement your threat properly, you possibly can observe these traits with out letting them run your pockets.

DISCOVER: 10+ Subsequent Crypto to 100X In 2026

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