Crypto’s 2026 investment playbook: Bitcoin, stablecoin infrastructure, tokenized assets

After a volatile 2025, investors are rethinking crypto cycles. Here are three investment themes that will shape the market’s next phase in 2026.

2025 didn’t unfold the way many cryptocurrency investors expected.

Although Bitcoin (BTC) peaked almost precisely in line with its historical four-year cycle, the long-anticipated blow-off top never materialized. Notably, Bitcoin’s gains failed to cascade into the broader market, leaving hopes for a full-fledged altcoin season largely unfulfilled.

As a result, 2026 opens under a cloud of uncertainty. Investor sentiment is extremely negative, marked by caution and skepticism, even as the industry finds itself in an unprecedented position. For the first time in crypto’s 15-year history, institutions, corporations and regulators are largely moving in the same direction, laying the groundwork for broader adoption rather than actively resisting it.

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