Grayscale's digital asset manager released its predictions for 2026, highlighting 10 key themes for investing in digital currencies that it believes will shape the digital asset markets.
The report classifies quantum computing and digital asset tokens (DATs) as non-driving factors for market movement in 2026.
Investment themes in digital currencies from Grayscale for 2026
Grayscale's 2026 report frames the coming period for digital asset forecasts as the "dawn of the institutional era" for the cryptocurrency industry. The company expects structural shifts in digital asset investment to accelerate in 2026, primarily driven by overall demand for alternative stores of value and improved regulatory clarity.
According to Grayscale, these trends could attract new capital and support broader adoption, especially among institutional investors and wealth-dependent clients, further integrating public blockchain into mainstream financial infrastructure.
"As the adoption of digital currencies grows with institutional capital flows, the nature of price performance has changed. In every previous bull market, Bitcoin's price increased by no less than 1,000% over a one-year period. This time, the maximum annual price increase reached about 240% (in the year ending March 2024). We believe the difference reflects the recent stability of institutional buying compared to the retail momentum that characterized previous cycles," the report stated.
Grayscale identified ten investment themes for 2026 and showcased specific digital assets expected to benefit from these market trends.
1. Risks of devaluing the U.S. dollar drive demand for alternative assets
The first theme focuses on the risks of dollar devaluation, as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Zcash (ZEC) are key alternatives for investors seeking to hedge against risks associated with fiat currency.
Grayscale pointed out that the U.S. economy is facing high levels of debt, which could put long-term pressure on the dollar's role as a store of value. According to the company, only a limited set of digital assets can be considered sustainable stores of value due to their relatively wide adoption, high degree of decentralization, and constrained supply growth.
"This includes the two largest digital assets by market capitalization, Bitcoin and Ether... Bitcoin's supply is capped at 21 million coins and is fully programmable... Zcash, a smaller decentralized digital currency with privacy features, may also be suitable for investment portfolios facing dollar devaluation," the company stated.
2. Clear regulatory frameworks support growth across the entire industry
Grayscale noted regulatory clarity as a key driver for broader adoption across the digital asset ecosystem. The report indicated that clear rules would enable greater participation in digital asset markets, benefiting multiple sectors simultaneously rather than favoring a single asset class.
"We anticipate another significant step forward next year with the passage of bipartisan structural market legislation... Given the potential significance of regulatory clarity in driving the digital asset class in 2026, we believe the collapse of the partisan process in Congress poses a negative risk."
3. Stablecoins gain importance in on-chain finance
The growth of stablecoins emerges as another key theme following President Donald Trump's signing of the GENIUS Act. According to the report, 2026 may begin to show tangible results of this shift, including the integration of stablecoins into cross-border payment services, their use as collateral in derivatives exchanges, and increased adoption in corporate balance sheets.
Grayscale also highlighted the potential use of stablecoins in online consumer payments as an alternative to credit cards. The company noted that ongoing growth in prediction markets could also drive demand for stablecoins. According to the report,
"Higher stablecoin volumes for the blockchains recording these transactions (like ETH, TRX, BNB, and SOL, among many others) should benefit, alongside a variety of supporting infrastructure (like LINK) and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications."
4. Asset tokenization enters a growth phase
The report highlighted asset tokenization in the real world as another area of interest in digital asset markets. Grayscale acknowledged that although the sector remains small today, continued infrastructure development and regulatory progress could support significant long-term expansion.
"By 2030, it would not be surprising to see tokenized assets grow by ~1000 times, in our view."
The company claimed that infrastructure platforms and smart contracts like Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and BNB Chain, along with compliance providers like Chainlink, are positioned to realize value as token adoption evolves.
5. Privacy solutions become essential needs
The report confirmed that privacy-focused technologies have become increasingly important for broader financial adoption. Projects like Zcash, Aztec, and Railgun may benefit from growing investor interest in privacy.
"We may also see increased adoption of privacy transactions on leading smart contract platforms like Ethereum (with ERC-7984) and Solana (with private transfer token expansions). Enhanced privacy tools may also require better identity and compliance infrastructure for decentralized finance," Grayscale wrote.
6. Blockchain addresses centralization risks in AI
The role of blockchain in countering AI centralization is the sixth theme. As AI development becomes more centralized, decentralized networks like Bittensor, Story Protocol, Near, and Worldcoin provide alternatives for secure and verifiable computing of data.
7. Accelerated DeFi activity as the main driver of lending
The seventh theme focuses on accelerating activity within decentralized finance. Decentralized finance applications this year have gained increasing momentum.
Additionally, lending protocols like Aave, Morpho, and Maple Finance have seen significant growth. The report also highlighted increasing activity in decentralized perpetual futures exchanges, such as Hyperliquid.
"Increased liquidity, interoperability, and real-world price links across these platforms position decentralized finance as a reliable alternative for users wishing to finance directly on-chain. We expect core decentralized finance protocols — including lending platforms like AAVE, decentralized exchanges like UNI and HYPE, and related infrastructure like LINK — as well as blockchains supporting most decentralized finance activities (like ETH, SOL, BASE)" Grayscale predicted.
8. Next-generation blockchain infrastructure meets the needs of broad adoption
The report discusses ongoing experiments with newer blockchain networks designed to address scalability, performance, and user experience. According to the company,
"Not all high-performance chains today will follow a similar path, but we expect some will. Superior technology does not guarantee adoption, but the architecture of these next-generation networks makes them uniquely suited to emerging categories like AI for micropayments, real-time gaming loops, high-frequency trading on-chain, and intention-based systems."
Grayscale points to projects like Sui, Monad, MegaETH, and Near as examples of networks that may attract interest.
9. Investor focus on sustainable revenues
The asset manager believes institutional investors can consider on-chain revenues and fee generation when evaluating blockchain and applications.
The report revealed that relatively high-revenue smart contract platforms include Tron, Ethereum, Solana, and BNB. Moreover, HYPE and PUMP are classified among high-revenue application layer assets.
10. Staking as a virtual feature in investment products
The tenth theme focuses on staking. Grayscale noted that greater regulatory clarity around staking may benefit liquid staking providers like Lido and Jito.
The company added, "More broadly, the fact that digital asset providers are able to depress share will make this virtual structure of retaining investment centers in proof-of-stake tokens, leading to higher share ratios and pressure on reward rates."
Why does Grayscale not consider quantum computing a driver for cryptocurrency prices in 2026
While Grayscale expects every investment theme to affect developments in the cryptocurrency market in 2026, the company also identifies two themes it does not expect to have a significant impact on the market. These potential gaps relate to quantum computing and the evolution of digital asset tokens (DATs).
"Research into quantum risks and community readiness efforts are likely to accelerate in 2026, but this theme is unlikely to change prices, in our view. The same applies to DAT devices. These tools are likely to be a permanent feature in the landscape of digital asset investment, but they are unlikely to be a major source of new demand for tokens or a major source of sale pressure in 2026, in our view."
Thus, Grayscale's 2026 outlook highlights a shift towards a more institutionally driven cryptocurrency market, where models of adoption, regulation, and sustainable revenues increasingly influence performance.
