Top 10 Trends of 2026 Revealed | Binance Research: Will Triple Policy Benefits Trigger a New Bull Market in the Crypto Market?

Binance Research recently published its latest report, “Full-Year 2025 & Themes for 2026,” highlighting that 2026 is expected to usher in the strongest “liquidity and compliance resonance period” since the 2020–2021 bull market. Despite geopolitical conflicts and market turbulence in 2025, the policy environment, institutional participation, and infrastructure have entered a new phase.

Chain News lists this report’s “Top 10 Trader Must-Read Trends,” covering core topics such as macro policies, Bitcoin, L1/L2 ecosystems, DeFi, prediction markets, AI, and more, providing forward-looking insights into the next potential crypto cycle starting in 2026.

1. The Policy Trifecta as the Biggest Catalyst for the Bull Market: Fiscal + Monetary + Deregulation Turning Fully Bullish

Binance Research defines the core narrative for 2026 as the “Three Policy Engines”:

Fiscal Stimulus: The US OBBBA bill is expected to release $100–$150 billion in tax refunds and family subsidies in Q1, with corporations also benefiting from investment incentives.

Monetary Easing: The Fed reactivates “quasi-QE” operations, combining rate cuts and balance sheet expansion, potentially releasing $500–$600 billion in liquidity throughout the year.

Deregulation Wave: Expectations of easing financial and capital markets regulation strengthen, stimulating risk appetite, IPOs, and M&A activities.

Binance emphasizes that this market cycle will be driven by “sovereign-level liquidity + institutional applications,” rather than solely retail FOMO.

2. Accelerated Macro-Driven Crypto Market: Traders Must Fully Embrace Policy and Interest Rate Sensitivity

The 2025 market trend was dominated by macro events such as tariff wars, AI cycles, and government shutdowns. Binance reports: “Crypto assets are now fully embedded in traditional financial cycles, with price formation closely linked to US bond yields, dollar strength, and policy signals.”

This also means traders in 2026 must incorporate macro variables (such as CPI data, government bond yields, ETF fund flows) into their operational frameworks, moving beyond single on-chain data analysis.

3. Bitcoin Financialization Deepens: Off-Chain Demand Becomes Mainstream, On-Chain Activity Moderates

Although BTC hit a record high of $126,000 in 2025, on-chain data shows a shift toward “holding” assets:

• Listed companies hold over 1.1 million BTC (about 5.5% of total supply)
• US spot ETFs attracted over $21.3 billion in inflows this year
• Hashrate and mining difficulty increased by over 30% annually

Meanwhile, active addresses and on-chain transaction volumes decreased by about 16% annually, indicating capital prefers entering through ETFs, custodians, and institutional channels. Bitcoin is moving toward becoming a “new gold-like asset.”

4. BTC Market Share Remains High: Altcoin Opportunities Await “Capital Spillover”

BTC’s market share in 2025 mostly stayed between 58–60%, a four-year high. Binance notes: “When macro uncertainty rises, capital tends to favor highly liquid, clearly regulated assets. BTC is the first choice.”

This implies that the start of altcoin seasons depends on broad liquidity spillover and risk appetite expansion.

5. L1 Ecosystem Competition Enters “Value Realization” Stage, No Longer Just About Trading Volume

The report states that many L1 chains in 2025, despite active trading, failed to translate into stable protocol revenue. Successful projects feature:

• Stable user bases and clear use cases (e.g., Solana)
• Integration with real-world applications (e.g., BNB Chain’s RWA settlements)
• Profitability under cost compression (e.g., Ethereum)

L1 valuation logic has shifted from “high TPS” to “recurring cash flow” capabilities.

6. Ethereum L2 Ecosystem Becomes Dominant: Base, Arbitrum Capture Most Traffic

In 2025, over 90% of Ethereum Layer 2 transaction volume was concentrated on a few rollups. After incentive declines, many mid- and long-tail L2 activities dropped significantly, indicating 2026 will be a year of structural differentiation for L2: “Useful ones stay, ineffective ones exit.”

7. DeFi Matures Faster: Governance Tokens First Considered as “Cash Flow Blue Chips”

In 2025, DeFi protocols generated total revenue of $16.2 billion, approaching traditional banking levels. Governance tokens are beginning to feature:

• Revenue-sharing models
• Regulatory frameworks (e.g., GENIUS Act)
• Integration with stablecoins and RWA structures

DeFi is shifting from “high inflation incentives” to “asset-backed and cash flow” institutional-grade tools.

8. Stablecoin Trading Volume Surpasses Visa: Entering the “Interoperability War” in 2026

In 2025, stablecoin market cap exceeded $305 billion, with daily trading volume reaching $3.54 trillion, surpassing Visa. Six new stablecoins (e.g., BUIDL, RLUSD) have market caps over $1 billion. The main battleground in 2026 will be interoperability between chains and cross-border payment efficiency.

9. Prediction Markets Transform into Institutional-Grade Hedging Tools

Binance emphasizes that prediction markets are no longer just speculative; they have become:

“Institutional hedging tools targeting elections, policies, and geopolitical events.”

Major political events like the 2026 US elections are expected to boost usage and legitimacy of these markets.

10. AI × Crypto Realizes True Deployment: Agentic Commerce Becomes the Largest Narrative Catalyst

The report mentions “402 Payment,” an HTTP-native payment mechanism that has processed over 100 million transactions, with over 90% initiated by AI agents, enabling:

• Automatic billing for APIs and data sources
• Initial realization of autonomous economy
• Business models combining AI and on-chain applications

This is seen as the first scalable AI × Crypto application with commercial potential.

2026 may be the year when “liquidity + compliance + application deployment” converge into a new era.

Binance Research concludes that the key to crypto market trends in 2026 depends on whether these three factors can simultaneously ferment:

• Rapid policy implementation (e.g., OBBBA cash flow)
• Continued ETF and sovereign institution accumulation
• Successful commercialization of AI × Crypto applications

If these three trends align, the market will open a new door for structural growth. For traders, 2026 is not just about speculation but could mark a turning point in capital and institutional upgrades.

This article, “Top 10 Trends for 2026 | Binance Research: Triple Policy Bonuses to Ignite a New Crypto Bull Market?” first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.