Original Title: 7 Crypto Lessons and Trends to Know Before 2026
Original Author: 0xJeff, AI Investor
Original Translation: Deep Tide Techflow
2025 was filled with unprecedented turbulence and change. We welcomed a U.S. President who reportedly supports cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. However, the market in 2025 did not usher in the anticipated bull run; instead, it became a year of “slaughter” for the entire industry.
· Most altcoins experienced an 80%-99% plunge in 2025
· Bitcoin’s market cap dominance returned to 2019-2020 levels (over 60%), outperforming most coins
· Ethereum (ETH) traded at prices similar to 2022
· The altcoin market was highly fragmented (with 40 to 50 million coins in circulation)
· Despite continuous positive news within the industry (such as clearer regulatory frameworks, ETF approvals, corporate adoption of blockchain technology, institutional investments in BTC, ETH, and altcoins), the stock market’s performance in 2025 completely overshadowed the crypto market
Despite the pain and turbulence, 2025 was still viewed by many as a “year of maturity” for the industry, but it also witnessed a massive exodus of practitioners and investors.
So, for those who remain steadfast in the crypto space, here are the key insights to understand before 2026 arrives:
Let’s dive in ↓
Prediction Markets: Versatile Trading Tools
Prediction markets became one of the fastest-growing verticals in 2025—weekly nominal trading volume reached $3.8 billion for the first time, with Polymarket, Kalshi, and Opinion emerging as dominant platforms in this space.
Although debates over whether “prediction markets equate to gambling” continue, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) treats them as event contracts or binary options based on real-world event outcomes. The CFTC’s innovation-friendly stance, coupled with increased market demand for betting/prediction, drove rapid growth in prediction market trading volume in 2025.
From a trading tool perspective, prediction markets demonstrate significant flexibility. They can be seen as a more user-experience-optimized option tool (though still lacking in liquidity).
You can use leverage trading on any market, choose “Yes/No” directional bets, use it as a hedging tool (by holding spot positions elsewhere), or earn yields and potential airdrop rewards by executing delta-neutral strategies (allocating “Yes/No” shares equally in the market).
Cash-Secured Puts and Covered Calls
These two options strategies are well-suited for investors looking to manage their investments in a more conservative manner.
Instead of directly buying or quickly selling altcoins when prices fall, you can generate cash flow by selling call or put options. If the price reaches a certain target, you can choose to buy the dip or sell your altcoins; if the price does not reach the target, you recover your principal.
This strategy is one of the best ways to generate high annual percentage yield (APR) for your altcoins or stablecoins.
The only caveat is that your principal will be locked for a period (typically 3-5 weeks), but you receive the option fee (premium) immediately when selling call or put options.
Narrative Fatigue + Equity vs. Token = Return to Fundamentals
The rotation speed of market narratives has accelerated significantly; trends that used to last weeks or even months now persist for only a few days at most.
The crypto community (CT) is shifting from chasing narratives to focusing on genuine fundamentals (e.g., user count, revenue, growth metrics). The market increasingly prefers evaluating metrics of real businesses and clarifying the value transfer relationship between business and token.
However, this year, we witnessed too much chaos in the interplay between equity and tokens, especially in mergers and acquisitions (M&A):
· Pumpfun acquired Padre (a trading tool), leaving Padre’s token holders completely in the dark. After the acquisition announcement, the PADRE token plummeted 50%-80%, triggering strong backlash from the community. To appease the Padre community, Pumpfun promised to airdrop PUMP tokens based on the value of PADRE holdings before the acquisition announcement.
· Circle acquired Axelar but similarly overlooked Axelar’s token holders. After the acquisition, the AXL token fell sharply. This is recent news, and what happens next remains unknown, but the community is already outraged (and rightfully so).
The debate between equity and token holders is intensifying, leading us to a deeper issue…
Market-Governed Organizations and Ownership Tokens
MetaDAO launched a fair, transparent, and manipulation-resistant ICO launchpad featuring high circulation, a relatively low fully diluted valuation (FDV) structure, and no venture capital (VC) or private allocation. Additionally, mechanisms such as performance-based team unlocks and potential fund recovery features were introduced.
This structure grants token holders genuine ownership, control, and aligned incentives, effectively addressing issues like project abandonment, token dumping, opaque operations, and improper acquisitions.
Colosseum (an independent accelerator for the Solana ecosystem) recently introduced “STAMP” (Simple Token Agreement, Market Protection), a novel investment contract designed to merge private VC financing with public MetaDAO ICOs, ensuring investor rights and aligning with MetaDAO’s on-chain governance.
The MetaDAO model has given rise to a new category of “ownership tokens,” projects launched via MetaDAO’s ICO. Many launched projects have performed strongly—for example, Umbra, Omnipair, and Avici saw high demand during fundraising, and their tokens significantly outperformed the market in 2025.
Through the MetaDAO model, the importance of token holders is elevated; they truly have a voice and actual ownership of the project. Project revenues and fees are no longer directed to equity holders but directly benefit token holders.
The trend of market-governed organizations and ownership tokens is likely to continue into 2026 and will intertwine with the next trend…
The Rise of Tokenized Securities
On-chain liquidity is constrained, and market participants’ focus is gradually shifting to fundamentals, revenue, buybacks, and other tangible value. Meanwhile, enterprises are adopting stablecoins, more institutions are deploying capital into crypto, and recently, tokenized securities have become simpler and more feasible than ever, especially for regulated institutions.
On December 11, 2025, a significant regulatory breakthrough occurred in tokenized securities. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a “No-Action Letter,” explicitly stating it would not take enforcement action against DTC, a subsidiary of DTCC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation), for its pilot tokenized securities program. The pilot includes tokenization of Russell 1000 index constituents, U.S. Treasuries, and major ETFs.
This mechanism, during the pilot period (starting in the second half of 2026, lasting three years), enables compliant centralized tokenization operations via DTC, directing activities to regulated infrastructure rather than fully decentralized alternatives.
This means that from 2026 onward, we will see more tokenized securities projects, implying increased demand for tokenized stocks and accelerating the fusion between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi).
Consumer Crypto Products and Perpetuals Become Crypto Core
In 2025, consumer crypto products and perpetuals (Perps) became core hotspots in the crypto industry:
· Pumpfun peaked in 2024-2025
· Virtuals adopted a similar model but infused a fresh AI smart agent narrative
· Zora also attempted something similar in content tokenization, with support from Jesse
· Collectibles, fantasy football, and prediction markets gained immense popularity in 2025
These are consumer-oriented products that allow both crypto-natives to have fun and attract non-crypto users (e.g., participants in prediction markets) to earn while enjoying themselves.
Crypto itself is like a game, and trading is a form of entertainment. Therefore, novel consumer products that effectively combine the two tend to stand out.
Perpetuals (Perps) have similar appeal because they allow users to place precise bets on asset price movements.
If you look at key metrics for prediction markets and perpetuals, both reached all-time highs (ATH) in 2025. These figures seem to “shout” that product-market fit (PMF) in crypto is evident: prediction markets saw weekly nominal trading volume of $3.8 billion, while perpetuals reached weekly trading volume of $340 billion (monthly volume $1.3 trillion, setting a new ATH).
This is why people are so enthusiastic about participating in platforms like Hyperliquid, Lighter, Aster, Polymarket, and Opinion. Massive activity, huge demand, and significant capital flows directly translate into higher valuations and more airdrop rewards.
Consumer crypto products also hold potential, but in 2025, we haven’t yet seen truly sustainable consumer crypto products. Sportsdotfun (SDF) showed promising early growth and is currently conducting community funding on Legion and Kraken. While the future of this space remains uncertain, the outlook is exciting for now.
From this, we learn that if you want to find your edge in this market, either invest in platforms (like prediction markets, perpetuals, consumer crypto products) or actively engage in these categories:
· Learn how to trade perpetuals
· Make predictions in prediction markets
· Use consumer crypto products
Through these practices, you can better understand the market and find your competitive advantage. Otherwise…
You Can Become a “Storyteller”
Yes, now The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Silicon Valley, and tech professionals everywhere are embracing the role of “Storyteller.” Many startups have opened job postings for “Storyteller” positions.
In crypto, this has long been commonplace. We have “Yappers,” key opinion leaders (KOLs), and storytellers who have been discussing projects and helping build crypto communities for years (even before Kaito coined the term “Yapper”).
But now, it seems the whole world is realizing the importance of having the right narrative, conveying brand, product, and positioning in the right way.
However, the role of a storyteller goes far beyond “yapping.” Currently in crypto, many “yappers” simply copy-paste content to “farm engagement” rather than genuinely trying to learn and understand what they’re discussing.
This creates an opportunity for those who truly understand the industry, possess expertise, or are curious learners to stand out—whether in the crypto community (CT) or broader fields.
Those skilled in storytelling can expand their brand influence and ultimately have the freedom to choose: they can go independent or be “acqui-hired” by startups and projects that align with their brand.
In 2025, we’ve already seen successful examples of this dynamic. For instance, Kalshi recruited well-known figures from the crypto community, and some crypto projects successfully shaped their brand and attracted more users through close partnerships and ambassador programs (e.g., sharing badges).
If you’re good at telling stories, this era is your stage!
Core Summary
The crypto market in 2024-2025 was like playing “Monopoly”;
While 2026 will be more like the domain of corporations, startups, and suit-wearing financiers—less “Monopoly”-style gameplay, fewer easy-money opportunities, and fewer narratives purely driven by “numbers going up.”
The future will focus more on fundamentals, aligned incentives, value accumulation, and compounding leverage. If you can’t develop a genuine competitive advantage, even if you’re an OG (original gangster), you might end up being the “exit liquidity” for others.
Your competitive advantage can be any of the following:
· Having a clear mind, not clouded by delusions;
· Being skilled at telling good stories;
· Building quality products that people genuinely need;
· Identifying trends;
· Trading rationally, not driven by emotions.
Persist, find your edge, and you will be rewarded.
Thank you very much for reading! If you want to know my thoughts on some projects and more straightforward insights, check out my The After Hour column on Substack.
