Pantera Partner's Outlook for 2026: Tokenized Gold, Stablecoin Payments, and Other Technologies May Reshape the Crypto Industry Structure
TL;DR
Pantera Capital partner Jay Yu predicts key crypto trends for 2026, including tokenized gold as a store of value, stablecoin payments reshaping finance, and AI integration in trading. Technologies like prediction markets and privacy services will evolve, with consolidation in digital asset platforms.
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Odaily Odaily reports that Jay Yu, a partner at Pantera Capital, published an article on the X platform making 12 predictions about crypto trends in 2026, including:
• Capital-efficient consumer credit: Launching easy-to-use lending applications through on-chain/off-chain credit modeling, modular design, and AI behavioral learning.
• Differentiation of prediction markets: Prediction markets are divided into financial (integration with DeFi, leverage) and cultural (community-driven, long-tail enthusiasts).
• Proxy Commerce with x402 Extensions: Proxy commerce extends to micropayments and regular payments using the x402 endpoint, with Solana outperforming Base on low-volume transactions.
• AI as an encrypted interface layer: AI-assisted trading (such as trend analysis) is becoming mainstream and is gradually being integrated into consumer applications.
• The Rise of Tokenized Gold: Tokenized gold has become an important asset in RWA (Real-World Assets) and a store of value option due to the dollar issue.
• Bitcoin Quantum Panic: Breakthrough in quantum technology sparks institutional discussion about Bitcoin's quantum resistance; the technology has not yet threatened its value.
• Unified privacy development experience: Privacy technologies (such as Ethereum's Kohaku) offer simplified development interfaces and may launch privacy as a service.
• DAT consolidation: Digital asset trading platforms (DATs) are consolidated into 2-3 per major market through liquidation or merger.
• Rethinking the Separation of Tokens and Equity: The governance token crisis has prompted companies to choose privatization, potentially leading to the introduction of redeemable equity tokens.
• Perpetual DEX Integration: Hyperliquid dominates the market, HIP3 markets and yield stablecoins (such as HyENA) become key, and USDC loses ground on HYPE.
• Multi-chain Prop AMM: Prop AMM extends to multiple chains, accounting for more than half of Solana's trading volume and pricing more assets such as RWA.
Traditional fintech companies use stablecoins: Stripe, Ramp, and others use stablecoins to process international payments, and stablecoin blockchains such as Tempo serve as bridges for fiat currency deposits.