This year, cryptocurrencies seem less like experiments and more like a maturing market, driven by institutional mergers, accelerated sector regulation, and rising macroeconomic pressures.
As the industry moves toward 2026, its trajectory will depend on assets capable of withstanding institutional scrutiny, how recession risks, shifts in monetary policies, and the adoption of stablecoins will change the position of cryptocurrencies in the dollar-based financial system.
Institutional capital drives the consolidation of digital currencies
Throughout 2025, BeInCrypto conducted interviews with veteran investors and prominent economists to assess the direction of the cryptocurrency industry and what lies ahead for this sector that has long been characterized by uncertainty.
Kevin O'Leary, Shark Tank investor, starts from a simple premise. As institutional capital enters, cryptocurrencies shift from an endless chase for tokens to a narrow set of assets that can justify long-term capital allocation.
He referred to his personal experience as a case study. O'Leary started as a skeptic of digital currencies, but as regulation began to take shape, he decided to expose himself to this market.
Initially, that meant buying widely. His portfolio grew to include 27 tokens. Later, he concluded that this approach was excessive. Today, he holds only three cryptocurrencies, which he said are more than enough for his needs.
O'Leary said in a podcast episode with BeInCrypto that if you statistically look at the volatility of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a stablecoin for liquidity... that's all I need to own.
O'Leary assigns a specific function to each asset. He described Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation, often comparing it to digital gold based on scarcity and decentralization.
Ethereum, in contrast, is not a currency but a foundational infrastructure for a new financial system, and long-term growth is tied to its technology. Stablecoins, as he noted, were held for flexibility rather than for gains.
This framework sets his direction for 2026. As regulation advances and institutional participation deepens, O'Leary expects capital to concentrate around Bitcoin and Ethereum as cornerstones in market investment portfolios. Other tokens will try to prove their worth for long-term allocation and will mostly compete on the margins.
In that context, investment in digital currencies shifts away from speculation towards building a disciplined portfolio, similar to how traditional asset classes are managed.
But despite investors focusing their holdings, the question of who ultimately controls the monetary structure of digital currencies becomes complicated.
The transfer of control over the dollar to the chain
Investors like O'Leary focused on reducing exposure, but the Greek economist and former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis pointed to a different shift.
In an episode of the BeInCrypto podcast, he explained that control over the monetary infrastructure of digital currencies is increasing, especially as stablecoins move under closer scrutiny from the state and companies.
Varoufakis pointed to recent American policy as a turning point. By pushing legislation like the GENIUS Act, Washington is embracing the extension of the dollar system based on stablecoins. Instead of challenging the existing financial system, stablecoins are positioned to strengthen it.
He linked this trend to the logic of what is called the Mar-a-Lago agreement, which seeks to weaken the value of the dollar in exchange while maintaining its dominance in global payments. This contradiction sits at the heart of his concern.
Varoufakis warned that this model delegates monetary authority to private issuers, increasing financial concentration while reducing public accountability. He clarified that the risks extend beyond the United States, with dollar-backed stablecoins spreading across foreign economies.
Varoufakis said in an episode of the BeInCrypto podcast that while we speak, there are Malaysian companies, Indonesian companies, and companies here in Europe increasingly using Tether... and this represents a huge problem. Suddenly, these countries find themselves with central banks that do not control their money supply. Thus, their ability to implement monetary policy diminishes and this generates instability.
For 2026, it is expected that stablecoins will be described as a systemic vulnerability.
A major failure could lead to a cross-border financial shock, revealing the deepest vulnerabilities of cryptocurrencies, not the volatility, but the increasing entanglement with traditional authoritarian structures.
These risks remain largely theoretical in calm conditions. The real test comes when growth slows, liquidity tightens, and markets begin to suffer.
Former economic advisor to Ronald Reagan, Steve Hanke, warned that such a test is approaching.
Economic slowdown tests the strength of the markets
In one episode of the BeInCrypto podcast, an applied economics professor at Johns Hopkins University stated that the U.S. economy is heading towards recession, due to policy uncertainty and weak monetary growth, not because of inflation.
Hanke pointed to inconsistencies in tariff policy and the widening fiscal deficit as key causes of declining investments and confidence.
Hanke said that investors who invest in a new factory or something like that, when faced with these situations, hesitate and say: "We'll wait until things calm down to see what happens" and stop investing.
Hanke predicted that as economic conditions deteriorate, the Federal Reserve will continue to respond with more accommodative monetary policy.
He did not directly address cryptocurrencies, but his overall vision outlines the conditions under which cryptocurrencies will be tested.
He affirmed that liquidity shortages followed by sudden easing historically lead to the revelation of vulnerabilities across financial markets, especially in systems reliant on leverage or fragile trust.
For crypto, the outcome appears to be structural rather than speculative.
He explained that in an environment fraught with recession risks and policy volatility, pressures reveal what growth periods hide, and what lasts is not what grows fast, but what has been built to withstand contraction.
