What's the read on crypto and digital-asset infrastructure, and where are experts most and least constructive?

Experts observe a significant maturation in the digital asset market, characterized by a structural shift away from speculation and toward the development of foundational infrastructure [1, 14]. This transition is attracting significant institutional interest, even during market downturns, leading Grayscale to label 2026 as the **"dawn of the institutional era"** for crypto [4, 7, 17, 21]. The primary investment opportunity is now seen not in speculative assets themselves, but in the core infrastructure layers that enable real-world utility, such as liquidity venues, issuance platforms, and composability protocols . This focus on building is underpinned by a more constructive regulatory environment in the United States, where anticipated legislation and clearer rules from agencies like the SEC and CFTC are expected to de-risk the asset class and unlock broader adoption [2, 4, 7, 13, 15].

The most constructive view centers on stablecoins, which are emerging as the key technology driving tangible adoption . With annual transaction volumes reaching **~$16 trillion**, stablecoins are being integrated by major fintechs to replace inefficient traditional payment rails . Experts see them as the primary tool to disrupt the $1.2 quadrillion B2B payments market by offering instant, global, and programmable settlement . Concrete use cases are already live, including cross-border remittances, corporate treasury management for FX hedging, and novel payment products . Looking forward, some analysts predict the imminent migration of trillions of dollars in traditional financial (TradFi) assets onto these crypto rails, driven by superior efficiency and the newfound maturity of on-chain infrastructure [5, 24]. Asset classes with fragmented markets, such as private credit, are expected to tokenize faster than those with entrenched legacy systems .

Beyond payments, experts are constructive on crypto's role as the essential financial infrastructure for the emerging AI economy . The argument is that only software-native crypto rails can efficiently integrate millions or billions of autonomous AI agents into the financial system, a task unworkable with traditional banking [3, 28]. This convergence of TradFi and crypto is further evidenced by partnerships between major interoperability protocols and financial institutions like the DTCC and Citadel Securities, aimed at building infrastructure capable of handling legacy system scale . The proliferation of regulated products like ETPs for assets beyond Bitcoin and Ether is also seen as a critical on-ramp that lowers barriers to entry for a wider range of investors [7, 20].

However, experts are least constructive on the near-term prospects for consumer-facing decentralized applications and the state of retail engagement . While institutional adoption is reportedly