In 2025, the crypto market advances amid profound structural changes. The macro narrative of Bitcoin, the paradigm shifts in core sectors, and innovative experiments at the periphery collectively outline the contours of a new cycle. This report aims to systematically review key variables and forecast the core path of 2026, from the establishment of order to the expansion of value.
  1. Major Assets: Bitcoin, Ethereum, MEME
    The role and market positioning of core major assets are evolving—moving from early-stage speculative narratives toward assets with more mature pricing systems—and are poised to exert a deeper influence on the capital market in the future.
  1. Core Sectors: US Stock Tokenization, Hyperliquid, Privacy Sector, Prediction Market, PolitFi, and PayFi
    These dark horses delivered strong performance over the past year and are now undergoing structural upgrades in technical strength, market share, and application scenarios—making them key areas to watch in the year ahead.
  1. Exploratory Directions: X402, TCG Trading Card Games, AI x Crypto x Education, and Robotics x Crypto
   In 2025, the crypto space engaged in diverse innovation, giving rise to several standout projects that will remain highly relevant into 2026.
                                                                                                                                                                        
 

Major Assets

Major crypto assets are seeking to move beyond the early narratives of volatility and speculation and to embrace a broader global asset-pricing system.
  1. Bitcoin
      2025 Review | From Narrative Assets to Macro Allocation
    • Shifting from narrative-driven to macro pricing
    • The high beta characteristics were reinforced, not weakened
    • Pricing power shifted from retail sentiment to institutional positions
      2026 Outlook | Long-term Value of Macro Assets
    • More like macro assets, rather than crypto narratives
    • Supply cap unchanged, but supply rhythm is being reshaped
    • Valuations will approach commodity-relative pricing
    • Potential cognitive leap: The underlying settlement anchor for energy and machine systems
  1. Ethereum
      2025 Review | Technical Upgrades, Staking, and FUD Dilemma
    • Major upgrades: Pectra and Fusaka
    • Capital inflows from DAT and ETFs
    • ETH staking
    • Ethereum's dilemma and FUD
      2026 Outlook | Coexistence of Technical Strengths, Sector Opportunities, and Competitive Risks
    • Stronger technical foundation
    • Infrastructure potential in the privacy sector
    • Fundamental advantages and challenges
  1. MEME
      2025 Review | Waves of Outbreaks and Fleeting Frenzy
    • Harsh and realistic project data
    • Meme coin investment logic
      2026 Outlook | Gradual Maturity and Narrative Upgrades
    • Fundamentals surge from the start of the year
    • Entering a stage of comprehensive upgrade and transformation
 

Core Sectors

Over the past year, the crypto space's core sectors have delivered varied performance. We've identified six standout dark horses and offer a review and outlook on each.
  1. US Stock Tokenization
      2025 Review | From Skepticism to Limited Testing
    • Liquidity at the core from the perspective of the underlying structure
    • Early-stage risk consensus
      2026 Outlook | Liquidity Release + Elite Game
    • TradFi extension, infrastructure upgrade
    • Market pathways, advancing in tiers
  1. Hyperliquid
      2025 Review | Dark Horse of the Year, Breakthroughs Across Tech and Market
    • Technical breakthroughs driven by team DNA
    • Solid ecosystem architecture, impressive data performance
      2026 Outlook | From Potential Alpha Asset to Premium Beta Asset
    • USDH vs. USDC ecosystem yield competition
    • HIP-3 outbreak, business expansion and compliance risks
    • Internal selling pressure and external competition persist
  1. Privacy Sector
      2025 Review | Structural Reshaping of Narratives and Functions
    • Annual evolution of narratives in this sector
    • Commercial functions under a compliant framework
    • Value logic from institutional and influential perspectives
      2026 Outlook | The Key Turning Point for Verifiable Privacy
    • Drivers of sector value
    • Regulatory risks and funding challenges
    • Deployment directions and key assets
  1. Prediction Markets
      2025 Review | From Marginal Innovation to Mainstream Finance Infrastructure
    • Attracting mainstream capital through market context
    • The market trended towards diversity, trading demand structure improving
    • A dual-polarized, diversified market gradually formed
      2026 Outlook | Complex Dynamics After Entering the Mainstream
    • Opportunities and challenges for sports events
    • Entry of major centralized exchanges and financial platforms
    • Will the legality of political event prediction persist?
    • Geopolitical and conflict situations spawn new prediction markets
  1. PolitFi
      2025 Review | Absurd Political Finance Arbitrage
    • Trump’s official Meme coin lead the PolitFi frenzy
    • Core value proposition of PolitFi
      2026 Outlook | Core of Short-term Arbitrage Remains Unchanged
     
  2. PayFi
      2025 Review | Leap from Narrative to Infrastructure: Stablecoin-driven PayFi Utilization
    • Focus shifted to enterprise-grade payments
    • Scale ascending: Stablecoins became the default on-chain settlement asset
    • Centered around solving “real-world payment issues”
      2026 Outlook | From "Feasible Validation" to "Efficiency Amplification"
      Three core scenarios for efficiency amplification:
    • Economies with weaker local currency credit or significant inflationary pressure
    • Cross-border settlement and online consumption scaling
    • Enterprise-grade payments and capital management scenarios
 

Exploratory Directions

In 2025, alongside mature narratives from the core sectors, there are also diverse explorations from the "innovative periphery". These innovations, emerging at the intersections, are equally worth attention in 2026.
  1. X402
      2025 Review | A Hot Payment Protocol Backed by Coinbase
    • Empowering the Base ecosystem: Early leadership and regulatory advantages
    • Empowering the SOL ecosystem: strong partner framework, payment infrastructure
    • Empowering the BSC ecosystem: Real-world application scenarios
      2026 Outlook | AI Demand Scenarios Open Up, Regulatory Compliance Challenges Persist
    • Market window opens
    • Key drivers
    • Regulatory and compliance challenges
  2. TCG (Trading Card Games)
      2025 Review | Physical Redemption Model Succeeded Amid On-chain Gaming Downturn
    • Trust anchor shifted from "pure consensus" to "physical backing"
    • Gacha became the engine of attention and transactions
    • Data validates business viability
      2026 Outlook | Gradual Expansion of Collectibles' Financialization
     
  3. AI x Crypto x Education
      2025 Review | Meme Provides Attention, Platformization Begins
    • A social experiment in "speculation for good"
    • Two evolutionary paths: Infrastructuralization vs. growth experiments
      2026 Outlook | Education as an AI Agent Deployment Scenario, Not Just a Price Driver
     
  4. Robotics x Crypto
      2025 Review | Web3 Side Takes Shape, Industry Side Provides Underlying Support
    • Verifiable supply began to show data anchor points
    • Narrative pathway converged to "data + capital"
      2026 Outlook | From "Thematic Resonance" to "Production Network Protocol Stack"
    • Continuing the main process
    • Building early prototypes
 
The market always rewards those who see farther ahead. BingX Research will continue to track key variables, and we look forward to witnessing and participating in the paradigm evolution of cryptocurrency with you.
 
BingX Research Team