Coinbase 2026 Outlook: Cautiously Optimistic About the Crypto Market, "DAT 2.0" Model Coming Soon

Coinbase Institutional released its 2026 Crypto Market Outlook report. The report indicates that Coinbase is cautiously optimistic about the crypto market in the first half of 2026, believing the US economy will remain resilient and the market setup is more like "1996" than "1999." Regarding institutional participation, the report anticipates the emergence of a "DAT 2.0" model in 2026, suggesting institutions will shift from simple asset allocation to more specialized trading, custody, and blockchain space acquisition. In terms of technology development, the report predicts that growing privacy demands will drive the development of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) and fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) technologies, and that autonomous transaction proxy systems will emerge in the AI ​​× cryptocurrency field. Application-specific blockchains will reshape the competitive landscape of crypto infrastructure, and tokenized stocks are expected to grow rapidly due to their atomic composability advantages. Regarding market opportunities, the composability of cryptocurrency derivatives, prediction markets, and stablecoin payments are key areas of focus. The report predicts that the total market capitalization of the stablecoin market could reach a target range of $1.2 trillion by the end of 2028.