Source: CryptoNewsNet Original Title: The Biggest Names in Crypto Predict New Bitcoin Highs and a Tokenization Boom in 2026 Original Link:

Market Overview

After years of volatility and experimentation, crypto is entering an institutional phase as regulation, AI infrastructure, and tokenized assets reshape the market.

Over the past year, the crypto market has recorded many milestones. Stablecoins reached a market capitalization of roughly $126 billion, while the total crypto market capitalization crossed the $4 trillion threshold for the first time. Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency, reached a new all-time high of over $126,000. Meanwhile, pro-crypto regulation took center stage with the emergence of bills like the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act.

Together, these developments underscore crypto’s shift from a speculative asset class toward financial infrastructure – a transition analysts expect to accelerate in 2026.

Market & Price Predictions

Major institutions broadly expect crypto markets to be more stable in 2026, with prices increasingly driven by institutional capital and regulation rather than retail speculation.

Asset managers expect Bitcoin to reach a new all-time high in the first half of 2026, citing clearer laws, sustained inflows, and the mining of the 20 millionth Bitcoin. Leading analysis suggests 2026 could mark a lasting shift toward long-term adoption.

Analysts predict Bitcoin will surpass its previous high of $126,000 and continue rising through the year, arguing that the traditional four-year crypto cycle is weakening as institutional money flows grow. Bitcoin’s volatility is expected to keep falling, with new all-time highs forecasted for Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL), driven by staking, tokenization, and clearer rules.

Industry leaders suggest Bitcoin could reach $150,000 and Ethereum $4,000 by year-end, compared to current levels of BTC at $88,000, ETH at $2,950, and SOL around $123.

RWAs & Tokenization

Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), which currently have an on-chain value of over $34 billion, are expected to reach at least $50 billion by 2026 year-end, driven by rapid growth in tokenized Treasuries.

Some analysts predict that extended crypto volatility will push total RWA value locked beyond $100 billion by the end of 2026. More than half of the 20 biggest asset managers on the planet will have launched RWA tokens by year-end – most will leverage technology partners to do so. Index providers will move on chain, and 80 percent of the global top 10 will have committed to proof of index concepts on chain.

Tokenized assets will be judged not just by how many are issued, but by how useful they are. By 2026, tokenized products will be judged not by issuance volume, but by what they can actually do – settle instantly, serve as collateral, and integrate with automated financial systems.

Tokenization strategies will expand beyond crypto-native institutions and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to traditional asset managers, corporate treasuries, and family offices that have been waiting for regulatory clarity and operational maturity.

Large institutions broadly agree that tokenization will be one of crypto’s most important growth areas in 2026 – but only if it moves beyond early experiments. Early projects often copied traditional finance rather than leveraging crypto’s strengths. Continued growth is expected in crypto-native designs, such as perpetual futures, synthetic assets, and on-chain financial products.

Origination onchain reduces loan servicing costs, back office structuring costs, and increases accessibility. The challenging part will be compliance and standardization, but builders are already working on solving those problems.

Tokenization is at an “inflection point.” While tokenized assets remain a small slice of global markets today, growth is expected to accelerate as regulation improves and infrastructure matures. By 2030, it would not be surprising to see tokenized assets grow by ~1,000x.

Stablecoins

Stablecoins are widely seen as crypto’s most practical use case, and the past year reinforced that view as major players moved toward stablecoin-based infrastructure. Institutions now expect stablecoins to play a much larger role in 2026.

Stablecoins already handle an estimated $46 trillion in annual transaction volume, which is more than many major payment networks. The main challenge now is access: connecting stablecoins to the payment systems people already use.

The next wave of adoption is expected to come from better onramps and offramps that link stablecoins directly to bank accounts, cards, local payment rails, and digital wallets.

Clearer regulation will push stablecoins deeper into financial infrastructure. As rules mature, activity is expected to concentrate among regulated issuers and expand across payments, settlement, and collateral use.

Looking further ahead, projections suggest that stablecoins could account for 12% of global cross-border payment flows and reach $1 trillion in annual payment volume by 2030.

AI x Crypto

Experts predict 2026 will be a turning point for AI-focused crypto projects. Hype-driven tokens will struggle, while projects with real revenue and use cases will survive.

The hype era is ending, and true utility will decide who survives the next cycle. The next advantage will not be raw computing power, but deep expertise in fields like finance, medicine, and science. As agents start interacting with real assets and higher-stakes systems, the ecosystem will demand infrastructure that can automatically attribute value, enforce usage rules, and prove that each computation was executed correctly.

As AI systems become more autonomous, they will need ways to send payments, confirm identity, and manage data rights without human involvement. This is driving interest in AI agents that can pay for services like data, APIs, or computing power on their own.

Rising on-chain activity is being tied to AI agents, prediction markets, and automated finance. AI agents could significantly speed up on-chain development, allowing even non-technical founders to launch products in days rather than months.

AI agents possess the capacity to catalyze a surge of innovation, potentially resulting in the expansion of novel onchain applications and substantially improved user experiences.