The Capital Gravity of the 2026 Crypto Market: How Institutions Will Reconfigure Investment Directions

Framework Ventures co-founder Vance Spencer recently published an important commentary on the market outlook for 2026. He believes that, although 2025 is not the "breakout year" anticipated by the industry, it is crucial for the overall development of the crypto industry.

Over the past year, the market has made clear choices. Meme coins, NFT projects, low-liquidity high-valuation (FDV) tokens, and the entire retail consumption narrative have gradually been marginalized by institutional investors. This is not the result of regulation but a proactive filtering by market participants.

**Market Gravity Will Shift Toward Mainstream Assets**

In 2026, the capital gravity in the crypto market will undergo a significant shift. The number of newly issued tokens is expected to decline sharply, with market focus further concentrated on mainstream assets—Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). This concentration will not lead to stagnant trading volume; instead, it will enable more precise capital allocation.

**DeFi Blue Chips Become Institutional Capital Hubs**

Meanwhile, institutional funds will continue to flow into DeFi blue-chip projects with robust value capture mechanisms. These projects, through ongoing buyback programs and protocol-level financial discipline, provide a solid foundation for long-term holders. Vance believes this buying pressure may exceed many market participants' expectations, especially as protocol-level self-regulation and token burns become routine.

**Future Main Tracks: Compliance and Practicality**

The future direction of the crypto industry has become clear. Stablecoins (Stablecoins), real-world asset tokenization (RWA), decentralized lending, capital market infrastructure, and asset management services will become the four pillars of industry development.

By reducing blind expansion, strengthening refined operations, and choosing a compliant path, the crypto industry will address many long-standing issues. This appears to be an optimistic forecast, but market volatility, price surges, and cash-out opportunities will occur in highly concentrated forms—meaning only leading projects will receive major capital allocation.

This implies that competition in 2026 will be more intense, and survivors will capture a larger market share.