Crypto’s 2026 Playbook: What Web3 Founders Expect From Regulators, Wall Street, And The Next Market Cycle
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) finally cracked its much predicted $100,000 mark before falling back down to Earth in late 2025. Many of the big cryptocurrencies lost value over the last 12 months despite 2025 being a banner year for the digital assets story. Next year, the story in crypto will be more about structure than price cycles of the big coins, Web3 founders predict.
Positive regulations in the U.S. and a handful of themes will keep investors bullish on crypto even if prices are moving sideways for months, many industry players are predicting.
“The passage of the Clarity Act in the U.S. in July, combined with the full implementation of EU crypto market regulations, should prove to be a major growth catalyst for the crypto space next year as companies will have clearer guidelines now,” said Joel Valenzuela, a Dash DAO core member.
The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework went live this year and the U.S. made progress with major digital-asset and stablecoin initiatives like the GENIUS Act. Several Asian countries have advanced frameworks for tokenized assets and on-chain collateral, too.
“U.S. regulations are looking to be relatively permissive, while MiCA introduces significantly more red tape,” said Valenzuela. “I would expect more business to migrate to the U.S.”
Founders Happy With U.S. Crypto Rules
For 2026, some market participants believe the U.S. Senate will pass their own market structure bill, paving the way for a regulated, well defined playing field for more digital assets, said Stefan Muehlbauer, Head of US Government Affairs at CertiK, one of the largest and most influential blockchain security firms in the world.
“The current administration has repeated the desire to make the United States the Crypto Capital of the World. Certain provisions in the GENIUS Act, such as requirements that reserve assets be held in dollar denominated cash or short term treasuries, already show that the U.S. is intent to maintain dollar dominance,” Muehlbauer said. “As the market structure bill advances, the U.S. is poised to add an additional layer of dollar dominance by creating a federally regulated, transparent, and legally certain on-ramp for institutional capital. This clarity transforms digital assets from a fringe investment into a fully integrated asset class,” he said.
In this way, regulation isn’t a constraint but can serve as a geopolitical advantage, pulling global crypto activity into a U.S.-regulated, dollar-centric financial system that maintains demand for dollars much in the way U.S. securities and global trade payment rails already do.
Regulation can be bullish, or bearish for crypto. Some founders see it as overall bullish, mainly because it brings safety and surety to the cryptocurrency markets. And that is the only thing that will make it attractive for investment firms, especially mid-sized asset …
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