RWAs, Perps, AI and credit

ocopd 2026年1月4日

0 6 5 minutes read

Coinbase Ventures recently highlighted the biggest growth trends for crypto in the coming year, but what are their crypto predictions for 2026? Find out what’s coming and what serious money is headed for 2026, from real-world assets on the chain to AI-powered crypto tools and new forms of DeFi credit. While Bitcoin and the majors are trading mostly sideways, venture capital funding tells a different story, with crypto VC deals jumping to $4.65 billion in Q3 2025, the highest since early 2023. That money is now starting to flow into a few clear themes that are important if you want to know where the next narrative might come from.

What Is Coinbase Ventures Betting And Why Should You Care?

Coinbase Ventures is the investment arm of Coinbase, which is one of the largest regulated exchanges in the US, so its thesis provides a good overview of which big, smart money it wants to fund next. Its latest vision outlines four main areas: real-world assets (RWAs) traded in infinite futures, advanced DeFi, prediction markets, and the intersection of AI, robotics, and blockchain. The group refers to this as “the artificialization of everything” as artificial markets proliferate in many estates.

RWAs sound technical, but the idea is simple: instead of trading only coins, you trade on-chain exposure to things like US Treasuries, private company shares, or commodities. Tokenized Treasuries have already jumped from $700 million to over $8 billion in two years, as institutions chase on-chain yields. Coinbase Ventures now relies on perpetual futures in these assets, which act as perpetual bets on price, rather than owning the underlying asset itself.

This fits well with Coinbase’s broader 2026 strategy around tokenization and yield, which we covered in detail in our Coinbase 2026 Outlook. The company also doubled its infrastructure with the $375 million acquisition of Echo to increase the launch of RWA tokens and capabilities. For you, that means more ways to access traditional-style assets and structured products directly from crypto rails, rather than going into a bank.

On the DeFi side, Coinbase Ventures highlights infinity as the “building blocks” that connect to lending agreements. Think of it as margin trading built into the DeFi financial markets: you keep a limited bet open while your collateral continues to earn a profit. They also mark unsecured, credit-based lending as a key prize, aiming to bring a slice of the multibillion-dollar off-chain credit market using more accurate identity and risk models. That’s changing DeFi from a purely passive loan (sending $100 to borrow $50) to something that resembles real-world credit cards and business loans much more closely.

The report also zooms in on the formation of exchange and speculation markets. The new specialized exchange is focused on offering money providers and advanced traders, rather than trying to be everything to everyone. Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi already handle more than $600 million in different currencies. Coinbase Ventures expects aggregators to order routes from multiple destinations, similar to how airline search engines scan different airlines to provide the best prices.

Finally, AI and robots appear throughout this thesis. Coinbase Ventures supports projects that acquire high-quality data to train robots, tools that verify user identity to distinguish between humans and AI agents, and AI development tools that write and test smart contracts. For beginners, this is important because it aims to make building secure crypto apps as easy as using no-code website builders. If that works, it lowers the barrier for new teams and speeds up the pace of new products you can actually use.

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Crypto Predictions for 2026: How These Bets Can Shape Your Crypto Strategy in 2026?

When a major VC arm like Coinbase Ventures publishes a roadmap, it does more than talk; it guides where the founders are and where other investors are following. RWAs, DeFi for credit, and ongoing periods are attracting a growing share of VC dollars just as speculative meme coins are losing steam, echoing what we’ve seen in other 2026 predictions and calls for a 2026 crypto reset. If you want to stay early, you look at where the money is accumulating rather than chasing yesterday’s buzz.

For the average investor, that doesn’t mean rushing to buy every RWA or perp token you see. These sectors are premature, often illiquid, and full of complex products that behave very differently than Bitcoin. A safe way is to treat this thesis as a map: read about RWAs, on-chain Treasuries, prediction markets, and DeFi credit, and then size any bet with little testing. Our educational guides on topics like stablecoins, perpetual futures, and Treasury tokens can help you build a solid foundation before risking real money.

Another clear signal: institutions are not moving away from crypto. Crypto VC funding is back to quarter billion levels, and big names like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton are running competing RWA platforms. That doesn’t guarantee price gains, but it shows that the big players treat on-chain finance as a long-term bet, not a fad.

What Are the Risks Behind Coinbase Ventures’ 2026 Crypto Thesis?

Perpetual futures, artificial RWAs, and unsecured credit all carry the risk of a real bust. When you trade fixed assets, you face financing fees, liquidation risk, and smart contract risk in addition to price movements. Synthetic RWA markets rely on reliable supply of prices and reliable issuers; if these fail, traders can lose everything, even if the underlying real world asset is doing well.

Unsecured lending attempts to replicate the real-world credit system, but flawed risk models can quickly put off lenders, especially during sharp market downturns. Privacy technology, identity proofing systems, and AI smart contract tools also sit in a regulatory gray area in many countries. Regulations around KYC, data, and securities law can reshape these products overnight.

So treat Coinbase Ventures’ thesis as a high-level compass, not a shopping list. Don’t invest rent or emergency savings in experimental DeFi, RWA perps, or lightly traded speculative markets. Start with education, then place small positions that you can afford to lose, and focus on places with a good reputation and well-researched regulations if you decide to partner.

As the year 2026 begins, crypto’s loudest narrative has quietly shifted from meme letters to on-chain credit, RWAs, and advanced AI infrastructure. If you’re always curious, skeptical, and size your risk wisely, you can follow these methods without letting them consume your wallet.

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