Three emerging trends are rapidly taking shape in the crypto outlook for December, setting the pace for the rest of the year and what could be a new tone for 2026.
Web3 spending is reaching historic highs, while Washington turns to robotics and prediction markets make a strong comeback, suggesting potential areas of interest for investors.
A record month for crypto cards
Crypto card payments have quietly surged in November, signaling what could be the strongest confirmation to date that Web3 neobanking is becoming a real trend for consumers.
Thus, according to independent researcher Stacy Muur, the volume of crypto cards reached 406 million dollars in November, a record. Rain led with 240 million dollars, followed by RedotPay at 91 million and ether.fi Cash at 36 million.
Growth leaders include Rain (+22%), Ready (formerly Argent) (+58%), and Ether.fi (+9%). Meanwhile, MetaMask fell by 30%, signaling a shift in user preference towards newer, utility-focused card products.
The PaymentScan data dashboard platform has further confirmed this trend, reporting the very first daily volume of 5 million dollars for crypto cards, alongside rising user activity.
This rise thus validates the growing idea that Web3 neobanking is truly gaining traction. It also aligns with a recent report from BeInCrypto, which showed that small-cap neobank tokens, including AVICI, CYPR, and MACHINES, are attracting analysts' attention for their combined offering of real-world spending, autonomous custody, and yield-generating crypto accounts.
These early-stage altcoins could therefore be undervalued compared to their growth in use within the sector.
Robotics x crypto: Washington lights a fuse
A second narrative accelerated this week with the Trump administration, which has redirected its technological focus from AI to robotics. Politico indeed reported that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is “fully committed” to the expansion of the American robotics sector, following high-level meetings with robotics CEOs.
Crypto market participants immediately made the connection. Thus, crypto analyst HK wrote that he initiated a new position in tokens related to robotics. While highlighting PEAQ, he stated that many assets could now be attractive for gradual investment.
“I decided to open a position in Robotics x Crypto […] Many have fallen since the rise […] end of October […] This could be a good time to gradually invest […] Added PEAQ,” wrote analyst HK in a post.
If robotics becomes a political priority in 2025, blockchain projects related to automation, machine coordination, and machine identity could benefit from renewed attention.
This narrative echoes the excitement for AI tokens of 2023-2024, but with a more industrial and hardware-focused approach.
Prediction markets: a volume war breaks out
The biggest breakthrough in December may, however, lie within prediction markets. Indeed, a recent report from BeInCrypto showed that Opinion.Trade reached 1.5 billion dollars in weekly volume, averaging 132.5 million dollars per day. Thus, the prediction market briefly surpassed its rivals, Kalshi and Polymarket, with a market share of 40.4%.
Two catalysts are driving this growth:
AI-powered forecasting models
A low-cost infrastructure on the BNB Chain, bolstered by the October integration of Polymarket and the launch of the Opinion Labs mainnet
Meanwhile, CZ has returned to the sector, unveiling a prediction platform supported by YZiLabs on BNB Chain. Trust Wallet has followed by integrating prediction tools for its 220 million users, in partnership with Kalshi, Polymarket, and Myriad.
CoinGecko data further shows that this category reaches a market capitalization of 2.23 billion dollars, with a trading volume of 49.2 million dollars over 24 hours. Trending assets include Limitless, Drift Protocol, and Rain, among others.
Many remain under the radar, creating a discovery environment similar to the early 2021 DeFi cycle.
Thus, as crypto cards set new records, Washington's focus on robotics opens a new narrative pathway, and prediction markets enter a volume race, December is shaping up to be a turning point.
Investors, now attentive to the key milestones of the first quarter of 2026, including regulatory changes, new card integrations, and major listings on prediction markets, may consider these three crypto trends as the engines of the early-year crypto momentum.
