#Gate广场创作者新春激励 Forbes Names 5 Crypto Investment Opportunities for 2026, Institutionalization and AI+Crypto as Core Themes
The crypto circle's investment direction for the new year is set! Forbes' latest release of 5 major crypto investment trends for 2026 has directly highlighted priorities for global investors! From institutional money flooding in, to accelerated implementation of asset tokenization, to cross-sector fusion of AI and crypto, each trend hides new opportunities. Although the market is currently in a quiet season, understanding these opportunities in advance allows precise strikes when the market recovers. Let me help you quickly grasp Forbes' core judgment and see where the money in crypto investment flows next year!
Crypto ETF Scale Breaks Through $200 Billion, Pension Funds Entering as Major Trend
The biggest highlight of the 2026 crypto market is the continued "position increase" by institutional funds.
According to Forbes analysis, the global crypto ETF and ETP asset scale has already broken through $200 billion, and Bitcoin ETFs are gradually entering mainstream investment portfolios—the most critical signal is that they are beginning to be included in US 401K-type retirement savings plans.
This means that crypto assets are no longer "toys" for niche investors, but are being treated as legitimate investment targets, attracting massive pension funds and institutional capital.
You should know that 401K plans are the mainstream retirement savings method in the US with enormous fund volumes. Once Bitcoin ETFs are widely incorporated into these plans, they will bring continuous long-term capital to the crypto market, significantly improving market stability and liquidity, and institutional maturity will advance another step.
SEC Approves DTCC, Legislation Landing Soon
Asset tokenization is moving from "concept" to "reality," with 2026 likely to see an explosion. Forbes particularly noted that the US SEC has approved the world's largest clearing institution DTCC to provide tokenization services, which is essentially giving traditional assets going on-chain a "green light."
Moreover, it's expected that formal legislation will launch in the second half of 2026, providing a clear regulatory framework for asset tokenization.
The core of this trend is "digitalization of traditional assets," where familiar assets like stocks and Treasury bonds could potentially be tokenized and traded on-chain.
DTCC's entry means tokenization services have the support of mature financial infrastructure, with greater security and compliance assurance, and higher willingness for enterprises and institutions to participate.
Scale Breaks Through $300 Billion, Financial Giants Flock In
Stablecoins, as the "capital bridge" of the crypto market, have considerable growth momentum in 2026.
Currently the stablecoin market scale has already broken through $300 billion, and the promotion of the "GENIUS Act" has directly attracted top fintech companies like Stripe and Klarna to enter and layout.
This will not only improve stablecoin infrastructure but also expand its application scenarios.
Previously stablecoins were mainly used for transaction settlement within the crypto circle, but with the participation of financial giants, they may penetrate more offline payment and cross-border transfer scenarios in the future.
For investors, the prosperity of the stablecoin ecosystem will also make crypto market capital inflows and outflows smoother, indirectly driving overall market activity.
On-Chain Market Expansion
In 2026, the on-chain market will completely break through the limitation of "only trading crypto," entering an era of "everything tradeable."
Forbes data shows that platforms like Hyperliquid have already driven on-chain perpetual contract trading volume to nearly $3 trillion in 2025, and trading varieties are already not limited to crypto assets, having expanded to traditional financial varieties like oil and interest rates.
This means the on-chain market is undergoing deep integration with traditional financial markets. In the future, investors won't need to switch between multiple platforms—they can achieve one-stop trading of cryptocurrencies, commodities, and interest rate products on-chain.
This diversification trend will attract more traditional investors into the crypto ecosystem, further expanding market scale.
Machine Economy Rising, The most promising cross-sector trend is the deep combination of AI and cryptocurrencies.
Forbes predicts that the "machine economy" will explode in 2026—high-frequency, micro-payment transactions between AI agents require blockchain technology to achieve low-cost, efficient settlement, and public chains like Base and Solana have already seized first-mover advantage in this field.
Simply put, when AI agents provide services to each other and conduct collaborations in the future, the resulting small-payment needs can be completed quickly through crypto networks.
This new application scenario will not only bring massive real transaction demands to blockchain but also spawn more innovative projects combining AI and crypto, becoming one of the core investment themes next year.
The crypto circle's investment direction for the new year is set! Forbes' latest release of 5 major crypto investment trends for 2026 has directly highlighted priorities for global investors! From institutional money flooding in, to accelerated implementation of asset tokenization, to cross-sector fusion of AI and crypto, each trend hides new opportunities. Although the market is currently in a quiet season, understanding these opportunities in advance allows precise strikes when the market recovers. Let me help you quickly grasp Forbes' core judgment and see where the money in crypto investment flows next year!
Crypto ETF Scale Breaks Through $200 Billion, Pension Funds Entering as Major Trend
The biggest highlight of the 2026 crypto market is the continued "position increase" by institutional funds.
According to Forbes analysis, the global crypto ETF and ETP asset scale has already broken through $200 billion, and Bitcoin ETFs are gradually entering mainstream investment portfolios—the most critical signal is that they are beginning to be included in US 401K-type retirement savings plans.
This means that crypto assets are no longer "toys" for niche investors, but are being treated as legitimate investment targets, attracting massive pension funds and institutional capital.
You should know that 401K plans are the mainstream retirement savings method in the US with enormous fund volumes. Once Bitcoin ETFs are widely incorporated into these plans, they will bring continuous long-term capital to the crypto market, significantly improving market stability and liquidity, and institutional maturity will advance another step.
SEC Approves DTCC, Legislation Landing Soon
Asset tokenization is moving from "concept" to "reality," with 2026 likely to see an explosion. Forbes particularly noted that the US SEC has approved the world's largest clearing institution DTCC to provide tokenization services, which is essentially giving traditional assets going on-chain a "green light."
Moreover, it's expected that formal legislation will launch in the second half of 2026, providing a clear regulatory framework for asset tokenization.
The core of this trend is "digitalization of traditional assets," where familiar assets like stocks and Treasury bonds could potentially be tokenized and traded on-chain.
DTCC's entry means tokenization services have the support of mature financial infrastructure, with greater security and compliance assurance, and higher willingness for enterprises and institutions to participate.
Scale Breaks Through $300 Billion, Financial Giants Flock In
Stablecoins, as the "capital bridge" of the crypto market, have considerable growth momentum in 2026.
Currently the stablecoin market scale has already broken through $300 billion, and the promotion of the "GENIUS Act" has directly attracted top fintech companies like Stripe and Klarna to enter and layout.
This will not only improve stablecoin infrastructure but also expand its application scenarios.
Previously stablecoins were mainly used for transaction settlement within the crypto circle, but with the participation of financial giants, they may penetrate more offline payment and cross-border transfer scenarios in the future.
For investors, the prosperity of the stablecoin ecosystem will also make crypto market capital inflows and outflows smoother, indirectly driving overall market activity.
On-Chain Market Expansion
In 2026, the on-chain market will completely break through the limitation of "only trading crypto," entering an era of "everything tradeable."
Forbes data shows that platforms like Hyperliquid have already driven on-chain perpetual contract trading volume to nearly $3 trillion in 2025, and trading varieties are already not limited to crypto assets, having expanded to traditional financial varieties like oil and interest rates.
This means the on-chain market is undergoing deep integration with traditional financial markets. In the future, investors won't need to switch between multiple platforms—they can achieve one-stop trading of cryptocurrencies, commodities, and interest rate products on-chain.
This diversification trend will attract more traditional investors into the crypto ecosystem, further expanding market scale.
Machine Economy Rising, The most promising cross-sector trend is the deep combination of AI and cryptocurrencies.
Forbes predicts that the "machine economy" will explode in 2026—high-frequency, micro-payment transactions between AI agents require blockchain technology to achieve low-cost, efficient settlement, and public chains like Base and Solana have already seized first-mover advantage in this field.
Simply put, when AI agents provide services to each other and conduct collaborations in the future, the resulting small-payment needs can be completed quickly through crypto networks.
This new application scenario will not only bring massive real transaction demands to blockchain but also spawn more innovative projects combining AI and crypto, becoming one of the core investment themes next year.
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