Crypto Predictions 2026: CoinFund President Shares His Forecast
CoinFund President Christopher Perkins is betting 2026 will probably be outlined much less by shiny new token narratives and extra by stability sheets, regulation-enabled product launches, and the messy maturation of crypto into an business that buys, sells, and consolidates itself. In a Dec. 31 thread on X, Perkins laid out seven predictions:
#1 Crypto ‘M&A Summer’ And A $25 Billion Deal Year
Perkins’ first and loudest name: 2026 will probably be “the 12 months of crypto M&A.” He pegged 2025 M&A exercise at roughly $8.6 billion in whole deal worth, then projected 2026 will “attain $25bn,” framing it as a step-change moderately than a modest grind greater.
He sketched consolidation strain throughout a number of fronts, from “DAT/Labs/Foundation consolidation” to “DAT vs DAT (mNAV reckoning),” plus a two-way bridge between conventional finance and crypto. The course of journey, in his telling, is easy: TradFi companies making an attempt to catch up and crypto companies shopping for their means into regulated capabilities.
“TradFi → Crypto (ugh, I’m behind and have to catch up),” he wrote. “Crypto (DATs, Exchanges) → TradFi (we want working corporations, securities capabilities and licenses, too!).” He additionally flagged “Asia→US” as a theme, arguing {that a} clearer regulatory setting will pull worldwide gamers towards the US market.
“2021 was stablecoin summer season; 2026 goes to be M&A summer season,” Perkins concluded.
#2 Stablecoins To $600 Billion
Perkins’ second prediction is a market-cap doubling in stablecoins, “surpassing $600bn (2x).” His reasoning hinges much less on retail use and extra on issuer economics and market plumbing.
“For each stablecoin, somebody is making internet curiosity earnings. Who wouldn’t need one?” he wrote. “As markets tokenize, you’ll want stablecoins to purchase and promote them. Watch the expansion speed up in 2026.”
The subtext is that stablecoins grow to be the default settlement asset for on-chain monetary exercise—particularly if more real-world assets and market buildings migrate on-chain—whereas issuer incentives stay robust.
#3 A $2 Billion-Plus Crypto Hack As A Policy Catalyst
Perkins additionally forecast a serious safety occasion: “A serious hack >$2bn will shake confidence, result in a drawdown and catalyze to coverage modifications.” He pointed to what he described as worsening tendencies, citing $3.4 billion in hacking throughout 2025, “a 51% improve,” then argued the assault floor grows as tokenization and stablecoins deliver “a whole bunch of billions extra” on-chain.
He went additional than the same old name for higher safety practices, floating a provocative historic reference as a attainable coverage course. “Maybe it’s time for a brand new change to coverage, like Letters of Marque and Reprisal,” he wrote. “Just sayin’….” The implication: if losses scale up, the coverage response might grow to be extra aggressive—and fewer summary.
#4 Regulated Derivatives Return
On market construction, Perkins predicted US crypto derivatives will come “again to the US in a serious means,” with a “large battle for marketshare” as “new gamers enter the house.” Even as he expects the US share of world derivatives quantity to triple, he argued CME’s slice of US crypto futures might fall amid broader competitors.
His thesis is rooted in regulatory momentum and institutional buying and selling conduct. “Now that the regulatory path is evident, there will probably be a proliferation of latest regulated futures merchandise launched within the US,” Perkins wrote. “As crypto enters its institutional period, demand will probably be off the charts as a result of foundation buying and selling will probably be their first step. This will breathe life again into alts.”
#5 No Market-Structure Bill
Not every thing is acceleration. Perkins’ fifth prediction: a comprehensive market structure bill “is not going to be handed,” blaming political calendar gravity. “Sorry guys, this one goes to be too tough. Midterms will take the oxygen out of the room,” he wrote.
#6 New ATHs For Bitcoin And ETH
Despite that, he nonetheless expects new highs within the majors, calling for bitcoin at $150,000 and ether above $5,000. “BTC and $ETH will hit ATHs,” Perkins wrote. “BTC hits $150,000; ETH makes passes $5,000. Institutional adoption makes this attainable.”
#7 NFTs Return, But Not As Jpegs
Finally, Perkins forecast an NFT revival with a format change. “NFTs will make a comeback, however model 2.0 is not going to be jpegs,” he wrote, carving out an exception for CryptoPunks whereas dismissing a broader JPEG-led resurgence. Instead, he expects “monetary, non-fungible tokens,” probably tied to “individualized, tokenized safety/yield vaults.”
At press time, the entire crypto market cap stood at $2.94 trillion.
