When Bitcoin first emerged in 2009, it was positioned as an alternative to banks, governments, and intermediaries. Fifteen years later, the story is playing out very differently. The world’s largest asset manager is now issuing tokenized funds on public blockchains, global banks such as J.P. Morgan are launching tokenized deposits on Ethereum, and the U.S. government holds Bitcoin as part of a strategic reserve.
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In its 2026 Digital Asset Outlook, published , CoinShares International Limited argues that this convergence with the traditional financial system—rather than disruption—will define the next decade. The report introduces the term “hybrid finance,” framing it as the merging of crypto-native infrastructure with established financial systems in ways that neither industry could have achieved alone.
Jean-Marie Mognetti, CEO of CoinShares, noted that digital assets are no longer operating at the periphery. They are becoming deeply embedded in the global economy. “If 2025 was the year of the graceful return, 2026 looks positioned to be a year of consolidation into the real economy,” he said.
The emergence of hybrid finance is already measurable. Stablecoin transaction volume now rivals Visa and Mastercard combined, while U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent forecasts a US$3 trillion market by the end of the decade. Tokenized assets led by private credit and U.S. Treasuries have more than doubled in 2025. AAVE, a single decentralized lending protocol, already holds enough liquidity to rank among the fifty largest banks in the United States.
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Examples of traditional finance building directly on public chains are increasing rapidly. BlackRock’s BUIDL, J.P. Morgan’s tokenized deposits on Base, and PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin collectively illustrate how the world’s most influential financial institutions are beginning to shape blockchain infrastructure rather than watch from the sidelines.
Bitcoin’s own trajectory reflects this broader evolution. U.S. spot ETFs have drawn more than US$90 billion in inflows. Public companies now hold more than one million BTC, nearly quadruple the number recorded just eighteen months ago. Corporate balance sheets, pension plans, and the federal government are all playing roles that would have seemed improbable a decade ago.
Looking ahead to 2026, CoinShares expects mainstream adoption to accelerate major wirehouses integrating Bitcoin ETFs, retirement providers enabling access, and global custody banks offering direct institutional settlement services. The report also outlines several price scenarios based on macroeconomic conditions, ranging from US$110,000 in a slower-growth environment to potential levels above US$150,000 if productivity and monetary conditions align.
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Competition among blockchain platforms is also intensifying. Ethereum remains the leading settlement environment, boosted by institutional adoption and ETF inflows. Solana has experienced a striking resurgence, with stablecoin supply increasing from US$1.8 billion to US$12 billion since early 2024. Newer platforms are emerging as well; Hyperliquid, a derivatives-focused network operated by a small team, has processed nearly US$3 trillion in cumulative volume while distributing the majority of revenue to token holders.
According to James Butterfill, Head of Research at CoinShares, these developments reflect a broader repositioning of crypto. “2026 will be defined by a financial system quietly rearchitecting itself around public blockchains and digital settlement layers,” he said.
Regulatory approaches are also diverging globally. The European Union’s MiCA provides a unified framework covering issuance, custody, and trading. In the United States, the GENIUS Act classifies payment stablecoins as non-securities with Treasury-backed requirements. Meanwhile, Asia is moving toward Basel-style prudential regulation, with Hong Kong introducing crypto capital rules that come into force in early 2026.
The report highlights two additional shifts taking place within the industry. Bitcoin mining companies have signed more than US$65 billion worth of contracts with hyperscaler providers for AI and HPC capacity, transforming miners into major compute infrastructure partners. At the same time, prediction markets are playing a growing role in public forecasting. Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, has committed up to US$2 billion to Polymarket, whose markets now serve as real-time predictive signals rivaling traditional polling.
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