The top investment institutions in the industry have recently released their key focus areas for BTC and the entire cryptocurrency market in 2026. This outlook covers 17 aspects of expected changes across multiple dimensions, including infrastructure, technological innovation, application ecosystems, and regulatory frameworks.

**Infrastructure and Payment Upgrades**

The stablecoin sector will undergo a qualitative leap. First, deposit and redemption channels will become more sophisticated and intelligent, significantly improving the experience for ordinary users when entering and withdrawing funds. Second, stablecoins will promote the tokenization of real-world assets in a manner more aligned with native crypto principles. This means that traditional assets will have smoother pathways into the on-chain world.

Stablecoins will essentially initiate an upgrade cycle for banking ledgers, giving rise to entirely new payment scenarios. When this happens, the internet truly becoming a bank will become possible—a global financial infrastructure operating 24/7 without geographical restrictions.

**New Forms of Inclusive Finance**

Providing wealth management services to everyone is no longer a dream. With technological advancements and improved infrastructure, this goal is becoming a reality. Meanwhile, the concept of KYC (Know Your Customer) will evolve into KYA (Know Your Agent), reflecting a deeper understanding of user agency and autonomy in the crypto world.

**Three Frontiers of Technological Innovation**

Artificial intelligence will be used for substantive research tasks, opening up new possibilities in the fields of cryptocurrency and Web3. Privacy protection will become the most critical competitive barrier in the crypto space—without privacy, there is no true freedom.

The development direction of instant messaging is also changing: future communication systems must not only resist threats from quantum computing but also achieve true decentralization. The emerging business model related to this, "Secrets as a Service," is also beginning to take shape.

**Paradigm Shift from Technology to Governance**

The once-cryptocurrency mantra "Code is Law" is evolving into "Regulations are Law." This reflects the industry's transition from a pure technological utopia to a reality where legal frameworks align with technical frameworks.

**Expansion of Application Ecosystems**

Prediction markets will enter an era of larger scale, broader coverage, and higher intelligence. Collateralized media, as a new form of content economy, is also emerging. Cryptocurrency is not just about blockchain itself; it provides new foundational technologies beyond blockchain.

For crypto enterprises, transactions are no longer the ultimate goal but merely a transit point—the real value lies in a broader ecosystem of applications. When legal frameworks finally align with technological architectures, the full potential of blockchain will be unleashed.