Прогнозы a16z: Интеграция криптографических технологий в традиционную медиаиндустрию приведёт к новому формату контента Translation: a16z Predictions: The Integration of Cryptographic Technologies into the Traditional Media Industry Will Lead to a New Format of Content

Experts have also forecasted the emergence of a new media format.

By 2026, the digital asset market is expected to focus on incorporating tools such as prediction platforms and cryptographic proofs into traditional businesses and infrastructure. This outlook was shared by analysts from a16z crypto.

According to them, crypto-native tools are increasingly infiltrating industries well beyond decentralized finance. This trend is driven by advancements in cryptography, artificial intelligence, and the creation of new economic systems and rules, enabling blockchains to function as foundational infrastructure rather than merely as end products.

As per a16z’s forecast, prediction markets will become larger, more expansive, and more intricate due to the convergence of crypto technologies and AI.

By the end of 2025, the total trading volume on the two largest platforms—Polymarket and Kalshi—could reach $28 billion.

Andy Hall, a scientific advisor at the company, pointed out that future progress will not just be defined by an increase in the number of contracts but by the improvement of methods to establish truth in resolving disputed outcomes.

He cited recent conflicts surrounding political and geopolitical markets as clear examples of the inadequacy of centralized arbitration mechanisms to cope with rising scales. This generates a steady demand for decentralized governance models and oracles using artificial intelligence for more objective and transparent result determination.

a16z also believes that 2026 could be a watershed year for ZK-proof technologies, which will begin to be widely adopted in traditional non-blockchain industries.

Justin Taller, a member of the research team, emphasized that advancements in zkEVM have dramatically decreased the costs of generating proofs. This makes computing economically viable even for CPU tasks in the cloud and, in the future, for consumer devices.

According to the expert, such a technological shift will pave the way for long-discussed applications like verifiable cloud computing. Businesses will be able to obtain cryptographic assurances that computations have been performed correctly without the need for re-execution or costly audits.

As the overhead costs of generating proofs continue to diminish and hardware performance rises, cryptographic verification may cease to be an «exotic» feature of blockchains and transform into a standard component of the overall digital infrastructure.

The third trend is the emergence of staked media. The concept is that content creators, through tokens and smart contracts, establish publicly verifiable commitments that directly link their reputational incentives to their own assertions and forecasts.

“As AI has made it cheap and easy to generate endless content—claiming anything from any perspective or on behalf of any character, real or fictional—simple trust in the words of people (or bots) may prove insufficient,” explained Robert Hackett from a16z’s editorial division.

He stated that this mechanism will enable media figures to demonstrate their neutrality and objectivity. For instance, when expressing their position or forecast, an expert could lock tokens to show they are not engaging in speculation or a Pump & Dump scheme.

“Or an analyst might tie their forecasts to public markets, thereby creating a verifiable track record,” Hackett added.

He emphasized that this new format will not replace traditional media but will “become an important complement” to it.

Recall that a16z has identified privacy as the leading direction for the crypto market in 2026.