Forbes' 2026 Crypto Investment Trends Outlook: Institutionalization, Tokenization, Stablecoins, and the AI Machine Economy

PANews reported on January 2nd that Nina Bambysheva, Forbes' currency markets editor and analyst, published an article analyzing five major trends in crypto investment for 2026, including:

1. The degree of institutionalization has further deepened, with the global asset size of crypto ETFs and ETPs exceeding US$200 billion, and Bitcoin ETFs are gradually being included in mainstream investment portfolios such as 401K.

2. Asset tokenization is accelerating. The US SEC has approved DTCC to provide tokenization services, and formal legislation is expected to be launched in the second half of 2026.

3. The development of stablecoin infrastructure has led to a market size exceeding $300 billion, and the GENIUS Act has attracted fintech companies such as Stripe and Klarna to enter the market.

4. The on-chain market is diversified, and everything can be traded. Platforms such as Hyperliquid have driven the perpetual contract trading volume to reach nearly $3 trillion in 2025, and the trading instruments have expanded to include oil and interest rates.

5. The combination of AI and cryptocurrency will enable the "machine economy" between AI agents to achieve low-cost micro-payments through blockchain, with networks such as Base and Solana leading the way in this field.