Tokenization 'supercycle' set to drive crypto’s next leg higher in 2026: Bernstein

• Bernstein expects a tokenization 'supercycle' in 2026 spanning stablecoins, capital markets and prediction markets.
• The broker reiterated its $150,000 bitcoin forecast for 2026 and $200,000 as its peak 2027 cycle target.
• Coinbase, Robinhood and other crypto-linked equities are seen as key beneficiaries.

Wall Street broker Bernstein said 2026 is likely to mark the start of a tokenization “supercycle,” with digital assets having probably bottomed after a weak end to 2025, making market dips an opportunity to add exposure to crypto-linked stocks.

The broker says sentiment weakened late last year but underlying fundamentals remain intact, analysts led by Gautam Chhugani wrote in a Tuesday report.

Bernstein maintained its bitcoin BTC$91,227.36 forecast of $150,000 in 2026, with a $200,000 target for the peak of the next market cycle in 2027.

The world's largest cryptocurrency was trading around $91,600 at publication time.

While bitcoin finished 2025 down about 6%, the report noted that crypto equities delivered their strongest year on record, with average returns of roughly 59% despite a fourth-quarter cooldown..

Outperform-rated Robinhood (HOOD), Coinbase (COIN), Figure (FIGR) and Circle (CRCL) are the "best tokenization proxies" with the firm's coverage, according to the report.

The analysts cut their Circle price target to $190 from $230. The shares were 4% lower in early trading at $81.35. The broker also reduced its Coinbase price target to $440 from $510. The stock was 3.3% lower at $242.62.

The next phase of growth will be driven by tokenization across multiple fronts, the analysts said.

Stablecoins, in particular, are seen moving beyond crypto trading into mainstream banking and payments. The analysts expect total supply to rise 56% year-over-year to about $420 billion by 2026, supported by cross-border business payments, consumer remittances, stablecoin-based neobanks and so-called agentic payments.

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to assets like fiat currencies or gold. They underpin much of the crypto economy, serving as payment rails and a tool for moving money across borders. USDT is the largest stablecoin, followed by USDC.

Bernstein pointed to growing adoption by fintech firms such as Block (XYZ), Revolut and PayPal (PYPL), as well as the expansion of agent payment protocols like Coinbase-built X402, which is already tracking roughly $300 million in annualized transaction volume.

Tokenization, the process by which real-world assets are converted into blockchain-based tokens, is another major pillar of the analysts' thesis. They estimated that onchain value locked in tokenized assets could more than double, from around $37 billion in 2025 to about $80 billion in 2026.

Prediction markets round out the firm's tokenization outlook. The broker projects total volumes could grow by 100% in 2026 to roughly $70 billion, implying about $1.4 billion in annual revenue for market makers and exchanges based on average contract fees

Read more: Citi is still a believer in crypto stocks despite bitcoin being rocked to end the year

• KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
• This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
• Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
• Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
• Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

• BNB fell below $900 amid a broader market decline, even after recent technical upgrades and ecosystem developments on the BNB Chain.
• The BNB Chain's layer-2 network, opBNB, recently completed a major upgrade, the Fourier hard fork, which doubled transaction throughput and cut block times in half.
• To regain bullish momentum, BNB needs to break out of its current downtrend and reclaim resistance levels near $906, otherwise it may face further pressure toward $892.

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