Happy Thursday, advisors!
Happy new year! . As we move into 2026, the challenges to asset management have fundamentally changed. The question is no longer “Do digital assets matter?” Rather, “Can your company afford to be a company that says no?”
Andreessen Horowitz declared 2025 to be the year cryptocurrencies go mainstream, and for good reason. Traditional finance (TradFi) is no longer just watching from afar. Extensive structural upgrades are underway. We are currently witnessing blockchain move from a “niche experiment” to the base layer of the financial system due to its undeniable efficiency and transparency.
In today's newsletter, Andy Baehr of CoinDesk Indices provides a 2026 cryptocurrency outlook covering banking, Bitcoin, privacy, and a wide selection of products. Ask an Expert covers the top trends advisors need to know about this year.
Happy reading.
– sarah morton
Looking ahead to 2026: Thematic developments we expect
If 2025 has taught us anything, it's that price and growth predictions can be off. We prefer to focus on thematic developments and progress that investors and traders can look forward to and track to increase confidence in deploying capital into digital assets. By 2025, it is expected to:
- Bitcoin volatility will decrease as the user base expands and the ETF options market grows. ✅
- Bitcoin’s “adoption momentum” is accelerating, highlighted by ETF holdings, DATs, and early structured products. ✅
- Hold a broader, broader gathering to create a better definition. digital asset class. We saw some evidence of that in Q2 and Q3, but we need broader gatherings and clearer definitions. ⌛
As we head into 2026, here are some theme development topics we're looking forward to (and happy to see).
The year when banks decline?
Banks struggling with legal capital price constraints associated with holding cryptocurrencies have been granted another year of “head starts” to foster adoption and innovation for crypto-native communities. Whether some banks' skepticism toward cryptocurrencies is genuine or circumstantial, we can expect them to become more powerful and consolidate in 2026. Customer demand, staying competitive, and huge revenue potential will make other options less attractive.
burden of choice
Traders and investors (particularly retail) will be faced with a dizzying array of newly accessible cryptocurrencies and blockchain-related products in 2026, especially in the United States. Tokens (via CEX and DEX), ETFs of tokens, tokens of stocks, prediction markets, DATs, structured products, yield products, 2nd generation NFTs…the list goes on.
Additionally, holding assets on-chain via stablecoins and tokenized yield product wallets will draw new users into its fold. How many more friends will split their dinner check with USDC? At the other end of the scale, will we see more regulated futures contracts backed by USDC?
Our wide range of new cryptocurrency-linked ETFs offers you maximum opportunities. tradercan be overwhelming in the long run investor and their advisors (“5%ers” as we designate them) just want to “track cryptocurrencies.”
We (self-referentially) expect index financial products (ETFs, exchange traded derivatives, structured products, tokenized baskets) to become more available, widely referenced and used. The winning indexes we predict will be CoinDesk 20 and CoinDesk 5, which will become new liquidity engines for their constituent stocks.
Bitcoin and “everything else”
Bitcoin's relative simplicity, internally consistent usage and investment case, holding period, and head start in US ETFs make it the poster child for “crypto” and the crypto market. The historically high correlation between Bitcoin and other crypto assets has supported this shorthand.
2025 saw a focus on stablecoins, the top layer 1 protocols Ethereum and Solana, and staking, paving the way for education for new cryptocurrency adopters. Good progress has been made there to strengthen the intuition that Bitcoin exists. one thingand many of the remaining digital asset classes something else.
The correlation between the CoinDesk 20 Index and Bitcoin is expected to decline in the future (despite Bitcoin being the largest constituent). We note that at the height of the market in Q3, the 90-day correlation dropped to around 0.80 and then ended the year above 0.95. We believe that low correlation is a sign of good health and great opportunity.
Focus on privacy
Privacy is a controversial topic in cryptocurrencies. Privacy not only violates the original spirit of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies (radical decentralization), but it also serves to (sometimes rightly) propagate the narrative that “cryptocurrencies are used by criminals.”
After all, a financial system without privacy cannot be sustained, and integration into traditional markets will require action. In 2025, advances made by semi-privacy solutions such as Canton became more entrenched. At the other end of the scale, Zcash's staggering 10x return in Q4 (on the aforementioned “soft tape”) reminded us that the voices of enthusiasts can be the loudest.
To learn more, read the full Digital Assets: Quarterly Review and Outlook.
– Andy Baehr, CFA, CoinDesk Indices Head of Product and Research
ask an expert
Q. What should advisors know heading into 2026?
We are currently facing a “triple threat” that is reshaping the way we move money, hold assets, and expect to serve our customers.
- Stablecoins: The world's largest payment systems, Mastercard, Visa, and SWIFT, have already integrated blockchain and stablecoin payment rails. Money now moves on-chain in minutes instead of days, with a level of transparency that replaces the historic “black hole” of traditional wire transfers.
- Tokenization: From private equity to real estate, the move to “everything on chain” is here. Tokenization provides fractional ownership and liquidity not possible with traditional systems.
- Crypto Access: BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, declared the Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) to be its biggest revenue generator, and it's only been two years.
Q. What should advisors know now that banks are offering cryptocurrencies?
Wall Street’s most prominent crypto skeptics have reversed course. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, once a vocal critic, acknowledged in late 2025 that “cryptocurrency is real” and that blockchain, stablecoins and smart contracts are real innovations that “all of us will use to facilitate better trade.”Together, 2025).
Major global institutions, including BVBA, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley, have officially begun moving beyond the 1% experiment. The company's investment committee currently recommends a 1-4% portfolio allocation to digital assets for high-net-worth clients (TradingView, 2025).
Verdict: For advisors, “career risk” has been reversed. There is no longer any danger in participating. The danger now lies in under-allocation.
Q. Which country is leading the spread of Bitcoin?
According to the latest 13F filings, US companies are leading the way. Adoption is not unique to the United States, but American educational institutions dominate the top 10 list.
Main items to note:
- BlackRock's IBIT remains the clear leader in the ETF space, reaching $50 billion in total assets under management in record time and accounting for approximately 59% of all spot Bitcoin ETF assets as of late 2025.
- Strategy Inc. (MicroStrategy) continues to be an active accumulator, with its total holdings representing over 3% of the total Bitcoin supply.
- Mr. Mubadala and Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) have significantly increased their position in the second half of 2025, more than tripling BlackRock's stake in IBIT, as part of a long-term “digital gold” diversification strategy.
Q. What are the most important items that advisors face?
The most important data point for the 2026 outlook is not the price target, but customer demand metrics. 82% of investors now say they are more likely to work with an advisor who provides guidance on digital assets (investment news 2025).
the client no longer wants if They should buy Bitcoin. They're asking how to secure it, how to report it for taxes, and how to incorporate it into estate planning. Competition for these assets will be fierce as Charles Schwab and Morgan Stanley “enable” direct access to more than 15,000 advisors this year.
– sarah morton
Please continue reading
- Bitcoin ETFs saw over $1.2 billion in inflows in the first few days of 2026.
- The White House declares the “war on cryptocurrencies” is over.
- Bank of America advisors can now recommend crypto ETFs to their clients.
