PANews reported on December 25th that Jay Yu, Head of Research and Investments at Pantera Capital, released 12 predictions for the crypto industry in 2026:

1. Capital-efficient consumer credit: Crypto lending that combines on-chain and off-chain credit modeling, modular design, and AI behavior learning will become a new frontier.
2. Prediction market differentiation: The prediction market will be divided into a "financial" direction (integrated with DeFi, supporting leverage and staking) and a "cultural" direction (more localized and with long-tail interests).
3. Agentic Commerce and x402: The x402-based payment framework will expand, and Solana may surpass Base in x402 transaction volume.
4. AI as the Encryption Interface Layer: AI-assisted trading and analysis will become widespread, while LLM-driven trading AI is still in the experimental stage.
5. The Rise of Tokenized Gold: Tokenized gold has become a popular asset for hedging against inflation and the dollar problem.
6. BTC Quantum Threat: Breakthroughs in quantum technology may prompt BTC institutions to discuss countermeasures, but it will not threaten the value in the short term.
7. Unified privacy development experience: Privacy frameworks (such as Kohaku) evolve into enterprise-grade privacy services.
8. DATs consolidation: The number of DATs in major sectors will be reduced to 2-3, through consolidation or transformation into ETFs.
9. The line between tokens and equity is blurred: governance tokens are facing an existential test, equity-exchangeable tokens may emerge, and the regulatory framework is becoming clearer.
10. Hyperliquid dominates perpetual contract DEXs: Hyperliquid maintains its dominant position, with stablecoins becoming core assets.
11. Prop AMMs Multi-Chain Expansion: Prop AMMs multi-chain expansion accounts for over 50% of Solana transaction volume.
12. Stablecoin international payment flows: More fintech companies (such as Stripe and Brex) are using stablecoins for international payments, and stablecoin chains such as Tempo are becoming major fiat-crypto gateways.