On the eve of Lunar New Year, as we bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, we are delighted to share with you the jointly produced report, “Top 10 Blockchain Industry Trends for 2026,” by the SNZ Holding Research Team and the Center for Computational Finance at Nanyang Technological University (NTU-CCTF)—now officially released! (Read the full report)
Looking back from the beginning of 2026, Web3 is undergoing a profound transformation: evolving from early speculative experiments into verifiable financial infrastructure. Stablecoins are no longer merely pricing units in the crypto market, but are increasingly discussed as a settlement layer for global payments; RWA assets are moving beyond pilot stages to become composable financial instruments within DeFi; technologies such as smart accounts, intent execution, and zero-knowledge proofs are bringing on-chain interactions into the mainstream user experience.
Based on a systematic review of technological advancements, market dynamics, and cutting-edge academic research, this report highlights the ten most noteworthy trends for 2026:
1. On-chain government bonds and cash management: RWA moves from concept to product;
2. Stablecoins: The new focal point of global payments by 2026;
3. The Era of Smart Accounts: Bringing On-Chain Interactions Back to Everyday User Experience;
4. From "manually constructing transactions" to "goal-based execution + backend bidding";
5. Zero-Knowledge Proofs: From Privacy Features to Infrastructure for Verifiable Computation;
6. Privacy and Compliance: From Trade-offs to Verifiable Engineering Balance;
7. Shared Security and Restaking: Redefine security budgets as tradable economic resources;
8. DePIN networks: From incentive-driven narratives to verifiable engineering;
9. Decentralized AI: From Narrative Hype to Engineering Practice;
10. Token Governance: Returning Voting Procedures to Institutionalized Design of Rights and Responsibilities.
This report synthesizes SNZ Holding’s industry insights in Web3 with the academic research expertise of NTU-CCTF, aiming to provide industry builders, researchers, and decision-makers with a forward-looking and practical reference guide.
Welcome to download, read, and share, and we look forward to witnessing the realization and evolution of these trends with you in 2026! Happy New Year’s Eve and a joyful Year of the Horse!