Coinbase Predicts 2026 Crypto Boom: ETFs, Stablecoins & Tokenization to Drive Mass Adoption

Forget the hype cycles—the real infrastructure is finally here.

Three pillars now support what could become the largest wealth transfer in modern finance. Spot Bitcoin ETFs cracked open the institutional floodgates. Stablecoins quietly became the backbone of a parallel payment system. And tokenization? It's turning everything from real estate to royalties into tradable digital assets.

The Gatekeepers Are Losing Control

Traditional finance built walls. Crypto is building bridges—and charging tolls in the process. ETFs bypass the clunky self-custody narrative for big money. Stablecoins cut out slow correspondent banks for cross-border value. Tokenization dismantles the monopoly of centralized exchanges and registries. Each innovation solves a legacy pain point with ruthless efficiency.

A Cynical Take on the New Money

Let's be real—Wall Street isn't embracing decentralization out of philosophical enlightenment. It's a land grab. The same firms that once dismissed crypto are now racing to package it, securitize it, and collect fees on it. The revolution might be peer-to-peer, but the profits are increasingly flowing to familiar middlemen.

The 2026 landscape isn't about speculative memecoins. It's about utility, access, and frictionless value movement. The technology has moved from the fringe to the foundation. Whether that's a triumph of innovation or just finance doing what it does best—finding new products to sell—depends on your level of cynicism. One thing's clear: the old rules no longer apply.

Coinbase: ETFs, Stablecoins and Tokenization Set to Accelerate in 2026

These trends, Duong argued, are likely to strengthen rather than fade.

“We expect these forces to compound in 2026 as ETF approval timelines compress, stablecoins take a larger role in delivery-vs-payment structures, and tokenized collateral is recognized more broadly across traditional transactions,” he said.

While crypto adoption has grown more gradually than early evangelists once predicted, the trajectory has remained stable.

Data from analytics platform Demand Sage shows global crypto adoption fluctuating within a narrow band over the past two years, ranging from 10.3% in the first quarter of 2023 to 9.9% in the first quarter of 2025.

Duong suggested that this steadiness reflects a maturing market rather than stagnation.

A key catalyst for the next phase, he said, is regulatory clarity. In 2025, several major jurisdictions moved to formalize crypto oversight, reshaping how institutions evaluate risk and deploy capital.

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In the United States, lawmakers advanced stablecoin legislation through the GENIUS Act, providing a clearer framework for dollar-pegged tokens and payment use cases.

In Europe, the rollout of the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation has brought greater consistency to licensing and compliance across member states.

“The practical consequence is real operational readiness,” Duong said, pointing to clearer policy guardrails that allow firms to build products, scale infrastructure and integrate crypto rails into payments and settlement systems.

Coinbase: Crypto Demand Broadens as Institutions and Macro Forces Take the Lead

Beyond regulation, Duong also pointed out a structural shift in demand.

Crypto markets are no longer driven by a single narrative or dominated by early adopters. Instead, a broader mix of institutions, allocators and end-users is shaping flows, tying crypto exposure to macroeconomic conditions, technological progress and geopolitical developments.

“Demand no longer hinges on a single story,” he said, adding that crypto is increasingly viewed through a long-term strategic lens as it becomes part of mainstream financial architecture.

Last month, Coinbase agreed to acquire The Clearing Company as it plans to scale prediction markets and advance its ambition of becoming an “Everything Exchange.”

Prior to this, Coinbase filed lawsuits against the US states of Michigan, Illinois, and Connecticut, escalating a growing legal fight over who has the authority to regulate prediction markets in the United States.