Original / Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author / Wenser (@wenser2010)
Yesterday, the "industry's top narrative VC" a16z released a heavyweight report titled "17 Big Idea Trends Most Anticipated in Crypto for 2026," covering areas such as stablecoins, tokenization, payments and finance, privacy, security, AI, and agents. It notably mentioned that "stablecoin trading volume reached $46 trillion in 2024, a figure that is 20 times the trading volume of PayPal and nearly 3 times that of Visa."
Considering recent news such as OSL Group's upcoming launch of the stablecoin USDGO, Jupiter's stablecoin JupUSD set to launch next week, and YouTube supporting US creators receiving revenue via PayPal's stablecoin PYUSD, Odaily Planet Daily boldly asserts that 2026 will become a "critical turning point" for the crypto industry and the crypto payments sector. Based on the above information, we make the following judgments on the future direction of crypto payments.
Judgment One: Stablecoin "Gateways" Undergo Revolutionary Changes
As mentioned in the a16z report—"The core problem that remains unsolved is: how to connect these digital dollars to the financial systems people use every day — i.e., the on-ramps and off-ramps for stablecoins."
Current mainstream methods include exchange C2C trading, payment giant conversion networks, and stablecoin issuer channels. Next year, numerous payment giant-backed stablecoin networks will gradually launch (such as the Tempo network supported by Stripe and Paradigm). At that time, stablecoin "gateways" will achieve deeper integration with traditional financial markets, daily payment networks, and life transaction scenarios.
If domestic mobile payments solved a series of usage scenarios, cost compression, and promotion issues through QR code solutions and digital red packets, then the introduction of regional and global payment networks by payment giants will provide a more convenient user experience for stablecoin on/off-ramping, lower transfer transaction costs, and a smoother fiat-to-stablecoin conversion process.
Furthermore, the B2B merchant usage level is also expected to usher in a new growth period as regulatory frameworks are further improved, mobile applications gradually enrich, and payment efficiency further increases.
Satoshi Nakamoto's vision of a "Peer-to-Peer" electronic cash system will be realized through the vehicle of stablecoins.
Judgment Two: Integration of RWA Assets and Stablecoins Spurs On-Chain Lending Business
At the crossroads of DeFi and TradFi, RWA assets are of paramount importance.
However, in the past, RWA assets were limited by the complexity of off-chain assets and fixed product forms, making it difficult to achieve complete "on-chain transformation"; meanwhile, the anchored value and price presentation of RWA assets often varied due to regional differences, time changes, and industry disparities.
As traditional financial markets face the impact of liquidity devaluation brought about by interest rate cuts, the stablecoin system may facilitate the transformation of the on-chain and off-chain trading systems for RWA assets.
In other words, in 2026, RWA assets may be priced in stablecoins through banking systems and payment networks, enabling exploration in areas such as RWA contracts, RWA lending, and RWA asset acquisitions.
The application submitted by Nasdaq to the U.S. SEC this year for tokenized stock trading was already a sign of things to come. Next year, based on Circle's USDC, the "first publicly listed stablecoin," and Tether's newly launched USAT stablecoin, the "stablecoin leader," there may be more scenarios where stablecoins are used to purchase traditional financial market products and participate in traditional financial market交易流程及更多环节的交易流程和更多环节.
As mentioned in the a16z report, "perpetual contracts" are expected to provide deeper liquidity for RWA assets, and crypto-native RWA asset tokenization will further develop; after meeting compliance and standardization requirements, on-chain lending business will also experience rapid growth.
Judgment Three: The Internet-as-a-Bank Model Arrives, AI Agent, x402 Protocol, Stablecoins Offer More Possibilities
This change may become the new starting point for the most anticipated "wave of massive crypto adoption" in 2026.
Just like "YouTube新增通过 PayPal 稳定币向创作者支付收入" (YouTube新增通过 PayPal stablecoin to pay creators revenue), with the rapid development of AI Agents, the gradual expansion of the x402 protocol, and its penetration into more life, work, and business scenarios, stablecoins and cryptocurrencies will "financially transform" the entire internet, bringing a series of astonishing changes—
1. Online and on-chain payments merge, transaction efficiency greatly improves. From the previous "what you see is what you get" to the future "what you think is what you buy," the combination of AI Agents and stablecoin payment systems will meet people's various internet shopping needs. Product筛选、需求的洞察、支付的便捷性 (screening, demand insight, payment convenience) will all undergo earth-shaking changes.
2. Internet products can be tokenized and quantifiably paid for. Based on the expansion of stablecoin payment networks, numerous internet products (tangible and intangible) will be quantifiable with stablecoins. With convenient on/off ramps, buyers and sellers can exchange goods and currency efficiently without intermediaries, lossy links, or long turnover periods.
3. The virtual digital economy is further stimulated. Whether current YouTube creators or various professional roles providing online virtual services, they will further supplement the online economy of the internet, and the stablecoin payment system will become a more efficient major option. Compared to previous behaviors like buying peripherals, offline support, and physical meetings to support virtual idols, convenient and quick "direct payment" may become the choice for more people.
Judgment Four: Stepping into the Era of全民金融 (Universal Finance), Investment Thresholds Lower Further
This is perhaps the most直观且影响深远 (intuitive and far-reaching) aspect during the further development of stock tokenization and the stablecoin system.
Limited by the structure and regulatory policies of past banking systems and securities trading markets, ordinary individual users often found it difficult to participate in economic financial markets and capital efficiency markets with low thresholds, low costs, and small shares. In the next year and the future, as stock tokenization platforms, processes, and regulatory environments become more mature, combined with AI investment advisor roles and reference opinions, everyone will become an indispensable and closely related part of the financial system.
In the not-too-distant 2026, buying $1 worth of SpaceX IPO shares might become possible; and putting one's limited funds into DeFi capital platforms jointly launched by banking systems and crypto-native projects with slightly higher annualized yields than government bonds might also be a good choice.
Most importantly, asset tokenization and fragmentation will further improve capital utilization efficiency and inject deeper liquidity into the global economic financial market.
At that time,借助代币化系统与稳定币网络 (with the help of tokenization systems and stablecoin networks), everyone will be a mesh in the financial network. Of course, this will inevitably be accompanied by risks, but it will also truly give the right to invest to each individual to make their own choices.
Judgment Five: The Stablecoin Hundred Armies War Will Continue, User Dividends Always Exist
In 2025, the main theme of the crypto industry is mainstream adoption, regulatory compliance, and institutional普及化 (popularization). Next year, it will be an even more fiercely competitive "Stablecoin Hundred Armies War".
This year's competition from Hyperliquid's native stablecoin code USDH was just a warm-up and a small glimpse of the great混战 (melee) in the stablecoin industry next year. Compared to USDT, Circle's USDC may face more intense competition and suffer further market share erosion.
Just like the previous "外卖百团大战" (Food Delivery Hundred Armies War) and "网约车百团大战" (Ride-hailing Hundred Armies War), the white-hot competition on the supply side will, to a certain extent, bring asymmetric benefits to the demand side. Ordinary users are expected to continue receiving good stablecoin usage subsidy benefits or other economic incentive returns.
The fact that Hong Kong compliant exchange OSL Group and Solana ecosystem comprehensive platform Jupiter are纷纷“染指”稳定币 (successively "dabbling in" stablecoins) also means that more compliant institutions and crypto service platforms will launch their own native stablecoins to gain有利地位 (favorable positions) in payment networks, commercial revenue, and user growth.
