What to look for in crypto in 2026: Bitcoin, Trump, and the battle for DeFi
The year 2025 proved to be the most consequential in the history of the crypto industry. After years of fighting for its survival in the face of hacks and growing regulatory hostility, crypto’s fortunes abruptly change. The Trump administration’s embrace of crypto, and the subsequent flood of interest from Wall Street and Silicon Valley, brought mainstream interest in the once fringe sector to a fever pitch.
In the latest episode of the Fortune Crypto Playbook podcast—available on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube—finance editor Jeff John Roberts and senior reporter Leo Schwartz discuss what this year will mean for the industry after its triumphant 2025. Despite the increased attention, crypto remains on a precipice, with the price of Bitcoin sinking below $100,000 and digital asset treasury companies underwater, even as banks rush to explore stablecoins and red-hot prediction markets employ blockchain technology.
Here are some storylines to watch in 2026:
- After exploding to over $125,000 in 2025, Bitcoin ended the year on a down note, though it has since begun to creep back toward $100,000. With institutions buying up the popular digital asset, will retail traders follow?
- The biggest breakthrough in 2025 was stablecoins, or dollar-backed digital assets that could disrupt global payments. But crypto advocates argue that decentralized finance, or DeFi, is the next major development, especially as other assets such as stocks are tokenized onto blockchains. Will Wall Street allow itself to be disrupted?
- Prediction markets like Polymarket represented the most significant mainstream adoption in crypto, with many employing blockchain technology to facilitate trading and settle contracts. But are they really crypto companies—and what other apps will find real-world adoption?
- The Trump family continues to push into crypto, with its digital asset project World Liberty Financial applying for a bank charter. Will the potential conflict of interest and ethics violations lead to a political backlash?
The crypto industry is hoping to build on its momentous progress in 2026. Tune in to the Crypto Playbook every week to see how the progress is going.
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