Coinbase sees three main forces set to shape crypto in 2026
The crypto cycle everyone’s used to: hype, speculation, boom, bust, repeat, might be over. At least that’s what Coinbase Institutional is saying in their latest report.
Colin Basco, an analyst, and David Duong, head of research at Coinbase Institutional, examined what is now driving the cryptocurrency markets. What did they learn? The period of the wild west is coming to an end. Retail traders and meme coin frenzy are giving way to professional trading infrastructure and institutional money.
Derivatives markets run the show
The key one is that trade activity on major exchanges is now dominated by perpetual futures. This fundamentally alters the way cryptocurrency prices fluctuate.
In the past, it was straightforward: coins…
