RWAs, Perps, AI & Credit

Coinbase Ventures simply spotlighted the largest progress tendencies for cryptocurrencies within the 12 months forward, however what are their 2026 crypto predictions? Discover out what lies forward and what severe cash is concentrating on in 2026, from real-world belongings on-chain to AI-powered crypto instruments and new varieties of DeFi credit score. Whereas Bitcoin and majors commerce principally sideways, enterprise funding tells a special story, with crypto VC offers leaping to $4.65 billion in Q3 2025, the best since early 2023. That money now begins flowing into just a few clear themes that matter if you wish to know the place the following huge narratives may come from.

What Is Coinbase Ventures Betting On And Why Ought to You Care?

Coinbase Ventures is the funding arm of Coinbase, one of many largest regulated exchanges within the US, so its thesis provides a great snapshot of what huge, good cash desires to fund subsequent. Its newest outlook singles out 4 fundamental zones: real-world belongings (RWAs) traded by way of perpetual futures, extra superior DeFi, prediction markets, and the intersection of AI, robotics, and blockchain. The workforce refers to this because the “perpification of all the pieces” as artificial markets broaden to extra belongings.

RWAs sound technical, however the thought is straightforward: as an alternative of solely buying and selling cash, you commerce on-chain publicity to issues like US Treasuries, non-public firm shares, or commodities. Tokenized Treasuries already jumped from about $700 million to over $8 billion in two years, as establishments chase on-chain yield. Coinbase Ventures now leans into perpetual futures on these belongings, which perform like a perpetual wager on value, quite than proudly owning the underlying asset itself.

This suits neatly with Coinbase’s broader 2026 technique round tokenization and yield, which we lined in additional element in our Coinbase 2026 Outlook. The agency additionally doubled down on infrastructure with a $375 million acquisition of Echo to spice up token launches and RWA capabilities. For you, meaning extra methods to entry traditional-style belongings and structured merchandise immediately from crypto rails, quite than via a financial institution.

On the DeFi facet, Coinbase Ventures highlights perpetuals as “constructing blocks” that plug into lending protocols. Consider it like margin buying and selling constructed into DeFi cash markets: you retain a leveraged wager open whereas your collateral continues to earn yield. Additionally they flag unsecured, credit-based lending as a big prize, aiming to carry a slice of the trillion-dollar off-chain credit score market on-chain utilizing extra correct id and threat fashions. That shifts DeFi from solely overcollateralized loans (posting $100 to borrow $50) towards one thing that resembles real-world bank cards and enterprise loans extra intently.

The report additionally zooms in on trade design and prediction markets. New specialised exchanges concentrate on serving liquidity suppliers and superior merchants, quite than making an attempt to be all the pieces to everybody. Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi already host over $600 million in fragmented liquidity. Coinbase Ventures expects aggregators that route orders throughout a number of venues, much like how flight engines like google scan numerous airways to supply one of the best value.

Lastly, AI and robotics seem all through the thesis. Coinbase Ventures backs initiatives that crowdsource high-quality information to coach robots, instruments that confirm a consumer’s id to differentiate between people and AI brokers, and AI growth instruments that write and audit good contracts. For inexperienced persons, this issues as a result of it goals to make constructing safe crypto apps as straightforward as utilizing no-code web site builders. If that works, it lowers the barrier for brand spanking new groups and quickens the tempo of latest merchandise you possibly can truly use.

DISCOVER: High 20 Crypto to Purchase in 2026

2026 Crypto Predictions: How May These Bets Form Your Crypto Technique in 2026?

When an enormous VC arm like Coinbase Ventures publishes a roadmap, it does greater than speak; it steers the place founders construct and the place different buyers observe. RWAs, credit score DeFi, and perpetuals entice a rising share of VC {dollars} simply as speculative meme cash lose steam, echoing what we noticed in different 2026 outlooks and 2026 crypto reset calls. If you wish to keep early, you watch the place this cash clusters quite than chasing yesterday’s hype.

For an everyday investor, that doesn’t imply dashing to purchase each RWA or perp token you see. These sectors are early, typically illiquid, and full of advanced merchandise that behave very in a different way from spot Bitcoin. A safer method is to deal with this thesis as a map: find out about RWAs, on-chain Treasuries, prediction markets, and DeFi credit score, then measurement any bets small and experimental. Our academic guides on matters similar to stablecoins, perpetual futures, and tokenized Treasuries might help you construct a stable basis earlier than you threat actual cash.

The opposite clear sign: establishments will not be strolling away from crypto. Crypto VC funding bounced again to multi-billion quarterly ranges, and large names like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton run competing RWA platforms. That doesn’t assure value positive aspects, nevertheless it reveals that enormous gamers deal with on-chain finance as a long-term wager, not a fad.

What Are the Dangers Behind Coinbase Ventures’ 2026 Crypto Thesis?

Perpetual futures, artificial RWAs, and unsecured credit score all carry actual blow-up threat. When you commerce perpetuals, you face funding charges, liquidation threat, and good contract threat on high of value actions. Artificial RWA markets depend on dependable value feeds and trustworthy issuers; if these fail, merchants can lose all the pieces, even when the underlying real-world asset performs properly.

Unsecured lending on-chain makes an attempt to copy the real-world credit score system, however flawed threat fashions can wipe out lenders rapidly, particularly throughout a pointy market downturn. Privateness tech, proof-of-humanity methods, and AI smart-contract tooling additionally sit in a regulatory grey space in lots of international locations. Guidelines round KYC, information, and securities legislation can reshape these merchandise in a single day.

So deal with Coinbase Ventures’ thesis as a high-level compass, not a purchasing listing. Don’t make investments lease cash or emergency financial savings in experimental DeFi, RWA perps, or thinly traded prediction markets. Begin with training, then with tiny positions you possibly can afford to lose, and concentrate on respected venues and well-audited protocols once you resolve to get hands-on.

As 2026 kicks off, the loudest crypto narratives quietly shift from meme cash to on-chain credit score, RWAs, and AI-boosted infrastructure. When you keep curious, skeptical, and measurement your threat correctly, you possibly can observe these tendencies with out letting them run your pockets.

DISCOVER: 10+ Subsequent Crypto to 100X In 2026

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