2026 Predictions: BTC & ETH Hit Record Highs, TradFi Uses Solana: Bits + Bips

Description

Thank you to our sponsor, ⁠Mantle⁠! Mantle is launching the Global Hackathon 2025 to accelerate the future of Real-World Assets. With a $150k prize pool, backing from a $4B treasury, and direct access to Bybit’s 7M+ users, this is the ultimate ecosystem for builders. Sign up ⁠here⁠! https://www.hackquest.io/vi/hackathons/Mantle-Global-Hackathon-2025 In this year-end Bits + Bips roundtable, hosts Austin Campbell and Chris Perkins are joined by John D’Agostino, Head of Strategy at Coinbase Institutional, for a wide-ranging and often contentious look at what 2026 may hold for crypto. They debate whether a major global brand will launch its own stablecoin, whether altcoins are structurally doomed—or secretly set up for a Wall Street–driven resurgence—and whether a major crypto hack is coming. The conversation also explores how tokens accrue value and whether there will be a new M&A trend that’ll reshape the industry as we know it. Plus: don’t miss what they have to say about NFTs, financial nihilism, and whether we’ll see all-time highs for bitcoin in 2026. Hosts: ⁠⭐️ Austin Campbell⁠, NYU Stern professor and Founder of Zero Knowledge Consulting ⁠⭐️ Christopher Perkins⁠, Managing Partner and President of CoinFund Guest: ⁠⭐️ John D'Agostino⁠, Head of Strategy for Coinbase Institutional Timestamps 🚀 3:38 Why John thinks a global Web2 giant will launch a stablecoin in 2026 💵 8:34 How big the stablecoin market can actually get and where tokenized deposits fit in 🚫 12:18 Whether stablecoins will face outright bans in parts of the world 🔓 16:18 Why a major crypto hack of more than $2 billion in 2026 seems likely 🏛️ 19:56 Why it looks like crypto market structure legislation won’t pass in 2026 — and maybe not after the midterms either 🧠 30:57 John’s three counter-consensus predictions involving quantum tech and AGI 📉 39:25 Whether altcoins are structurally set up to underperform again in 2026 ⚡ 44:02 Whether massive Solana adoption would or wouldn’t translate into token value 🌀 45:00 What “financial nihilism” explains about altcoin behavior 🤝 49:50 Why Chris believes 2026 could become a defining year for crypto M&A 🇺🇸 59:57 How U.S. political shifts now could ripple into the 2028 election cycle 🖼️ 1:02:39 What an NFT comeback would actually look like and why it won’t resemble JPEG mania 💣 1:07:05 Why John isn’t buying the idea that post-10/10 blowups are inevitable 📈 1:08:26 Whether all-time highs in 2026 are still on the table