Аналитики Wintermute предсказывают революцию в криптофинансах: от спекуляций к устойчивой экономике Translation: Wintermute Analysts Predict a Revolution in Crypto Finance: From Speculation to Sustainable Economy

In 2026, cryptocurrencies are expected to shed their speculative image and become a fundamental financial and transactional layer for the entire internet, according to analysts at Wintermute Ventures.

*»Digital assets have long existed in isolation within blockchains disconnected from the actual economy. This barrier is now breaking down. Cryptocurrencies are evolving into a universal clearing and settlement layer — the very infrastructure that the internet has been missing,»* the analysts noted.

Wintermute predicts that the boundaries of financial markets will dissolve, allowing events, their outcomes, and even information to become tradable. This will inject liquidity into areas that have historically existed outside of exchange mechanisms.

Key drivers in this direction will be:

*»As the infrastructure of prediction platforms scales, entirely new categories of products built on themes that have never had a market valuation will emerge. We anticipate the creation of markets designed for trading and quantitatively assessing objective measures of perception, sentiment, and collective opinions,»* the analysts emphasized.

New tools will seamlessly complement the DeFi sector, creating new opportunities for evaluating and exchanging information, they added.

Stablecoins are becoming the primary medium of exchange in the digital economy, Wintermute pointed out.

However, the growth of this segment is hampered by fragmentation. Experts note an «obvious market need» for a unified platform capable of consolidating settlements across various stablecoins for all asset categories.

*»The missing link is transferring the risks of conversion and credit risk to the issuers of stablecoins through balance-based compatibility, instead of forcing end users to manage currency operations, routing, or counterparty risks during stablecoin transactions,»* the experts stated.

The optimal solution would be an on-chain equivalent of correspondent banking systems. In such a model, risks are borne by the issuers of fiat assets, and settlements between counterparties occur almost instantaneously.

This year, the speculative frenzy around cryptocurrencies is expected to wane, analysts believe. Asset valuations will increasingly rely on stable financial metrics rather than short-term hype.

Investors will become wary of projects that turn temporary spikes in fees into annual statistics.

*»Projects whose tokens do not demonstrate a realistic path to creating and maintaining value will struggle to sustain long-term demand once speculative interest fades,»* Wintermute highlighted.

This will lead to strategic shifts: fewer startups will view launching a coin as a primary step.

Instead of early token sales, projects will begin to favor the classical venture model with equity financing. In this model, blockchain will serve as an effective infrastructure technology operating behind the scenes.

The issuance of a native asset — if even needed — will reflect the product’s development rather than serving as an entry point.

Experts believe that the future of finance does not lie in the rivalry between DeFi and traditional finance, but in their integration into a unified ecosystem.

*»Dual mechanism architectures will enable fintech applications to dynamically choose transaction routes based on an optimal balance of cost, speed, and potential returns,»* the company explained.

For users, crypto products will become indistinguishable from conventional applications. Technical details such as wallet management or interactions with specific blockchains will be hidden behind an intuitive interface.

The emergence of regulatory frameworks — such as MiCA in Europe or the Genius Act in the U.S. — provides institutional players with clear rules. Regulatory clarity enables outdated financial systems to be replaced by high-speed blockchain infrastructure.

*»By 2026, the discussion will shift: the question will no longer be whether institutions can use blockchains, but how they utilize these guidelines to modernize their infrastructure and transition to efficient on-chain systems,»* Wintermute noted.

Regions combining clear regulations with rapid coordination will attract capital, talent, and experimentation, accelerating the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies, experts concluded.

Recall that in January, analysts from the market maker pointed to a concentration of liquidity in Bitcoin and Ethereum.