Keyrock and Dune have launched a new dashboard called “12 Charts to Watch in 2026,” offering a detailed look at how the crypto market might evolve next year. The goal is simple: use real data to make bold predictions about where crypto is heading — from liquidity and asset growth to payment rails and institutional adoption.

Each of the 12 charts shows a live dataset along with a specific forecast for 2026. Together, they give us a clear roadmap of how core parts of the crypto ecosystem — like trading, payments, token issuance, and funding — are maturing and becoming more stable and institutional.

**Prediction Markets: Big Growth Ahead**

Prediction markets are expected to see major growth. After a huge spike in 2025, where weekly volume jumped 9.2x to nearly $5 billion, platforms like Kalshi, Polymarket, and Opinion now dominate the space with over 98% market share. Keyrock predicts that this will grow even more in 2026 — expecting $25 billion in weekly volume and a similar rise in open interest as more people place longer-term bets.

**Tokenization of Real-World Assets (RWAs)**

Another area seeing momentum is tokenization. This refers to bringing traditional financial assets like treasury bills and private credit onchain. Keyrock is tracking non-stablecoin tokenized assets and says their total value grew by 3.4x in 2025. For 2026, they forecast more than 4x growth, especially in tokenized cash products and private loans. There’s also early movement in equities and ETFs as regulations catch up.

**x402 Payments Protocol: AI Spending with Stablecoins**

A new payments protocol called x402, introduced by Coinbase in 2025, is also on the radar. It allows software and AI agents to pay for services using stablecoins. Keyrock expects x402 to cross $100 million in weekly volume in 2026, calling it an early sign of “machine-native commerce” starting to become real.

**Onchain Asset Management: Vaults Go Mainstream**

Vaults, a key tool for managing crypto assets, are also growing fast. In 2025, the focus was on improving the products. In 2026, it’s all about getting them to more users. Keyrock expects total vault AUM (assets under management) to triple to $36 billion by year-end. They also predict that at least one major traditional finance firm will offer vault-based yields directly onchain.

**Crypto Derivatives: Depth Is Key**

Derivatives like perpetual futures are a stress test for how mature crypto markets are. The share of futures trading happening on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) versus centralized ones (CEXs) jumped from 6.34% to 21% in 2025. Keyrock sees open interest — how much risk is actively held — as the key metric here. They predict onchain perpetual open interest will exceed $50 billion in 2026.

**Buybacks: Returning Value to Token Holders**

Token buybacks are becoming a popular way for protocols to return value to users. In 2025, platforms like Hyperliquid and Raydium ran multi-million-dollar buyback programs. For 2026, Keyrock expects weekly buyback spending to double and shift toward smarter models that adjust based on market conditions rather than fixed percentages.

**Solana MEV: Fixing Unfair Rewards**

On Solana, miner extractable value (MEV) became a hot issue. Tip-based MEV rewards fell sharply — from 100,000 SOL (about $25 million) down to just 1,000 SOL (about $139K). Keyrock highlights the Block Assembly Marketplace (BAM) as a better way to fairly distribute MEV rewards by using pricing mechanisms set by apps instead of relying on sudden tip spikes.

**Privacy and Ethereum Data Fees**

Keyrock also tracks privacy by monitoring “shielded ZEC” deposits. These are expected to grow from 4.9 million to over 7 million by the end of 2026. On Ethereum, they’re watching blob fees — which are tied to storing data onchain — predicting that the average hourly cost per blob will reach at least $0.05 over the year.

**Crypto Payments: Real-World Usage Rising**

Crypto card usage is gaining ground with real consumers. The report forecasts that at least one month in 2026 will see $500 million spent using crypto debit or credit cards. This signals growing mainstream adoption of crypto for everyday purchases.

**Traditional Finance and Bitcoin ETFs**

Traditional finance continues merging with crypto through products like spot Bitcoin ETFs. Keyrock expects ETF holdings to surpass 2.5 million BTC in 2026, with positive net inflows happening in at least eight different months — showing strong investor interest.

**Stablecoin Borrowing Rates: More Stability Needed**

Finally, stablecoin borrowing rates — specifically USDC on Aave — are being watched closely. Rates varied a lot in 2025, ranging from 2.4% to nearly 10%. Keyrock isn’t focused on the rate level itself but wants to see more stability in rates over time. Their prediction: the average volatility of USDC borrow rates drops below 0.25%, down from around 0.40 last year — making it more viable for long-term institutional strategies.

As of now, the total crypto market cap stands at $3.25 trillion, reflecting how far the space has come — and hinting at even bigger things ahead in 2026.