Coinbase has released its list of Crypto Investment Ideas for 2026, presenting a vision that leans more towards the next stage of crypto's evolution than a prediction of the next hype cycle. The focus is on identifying real, long-term opportunities that could enhance investment portfolios.
A New Push Into Real-World Assets
A significant area of focus is the exposure to real-world assets (RWAs). Coinbase Ventures anticipates the emergence of more products, such as perpetual futures tied to off-chain assets. These instruments will allow traders to gain synthetic exposure without directly holding the underlying asset, leading to faster and more flexible trading. The firm is also closely watching teams involved in asset tokenization that are building genuine financial products on-chain.
Coinbase Ventures just leaked their 2026 playbook. They are telling you exactly what they are about to push. Specifically on @base: – RWA perps (betting on housing > owning housing) – Ai agents (wallets for bots, not humans) – Unsecured credit (leverage based on…
— poet.base.eth (@1CrypticPoet) November 25, 2025
Smarter Exchanges and Better Liquidity
Coinbase also expresses enthusiasm for specialized exchanges and novel trading terminals. A notable concept is the prop-AMM, designed to protect liquidity providers from bots and unfair trading practices, thereby making DeFi trading safer and more appealing to everyday users.
Furthermore, Coinbase anticipates the growth of prediction market aggregators. These tools will consolidate fragmented liquidity from markets like Polymarket and Kalshi, offering users a single platform to view real-time event odds.
2. Specialized exchanges and trading terminals: New market-structure primitives — from Prop-AMMs to prediction-market terminals — are reshaping how traders route, hedge, and discover liquidity. We expect the next breakout UX layers and exchange models to emerge here as traders…
— Coinbase Ventures 🛡️ (@cbventures) November 25, 2025
Next-Generation DeFi
While DeFi may not be at its 2021 peak, Coinbase predicts a new wave of innovation. Future protocols are expected to integrate perpetual exchanges with lending features, enabling traders to earn yield on collateral even while maintaining leveraged positions, thus improving capital efficiency for all participants.
Privacy is also a significant area of development. Builders are creating tools that protect user data without compromising transparency. Projects like Zcash exemplify the strength of this trend.
Coinbase Ventures just laid out the four key investment themes they’re excited to back for 2026 and beyond. From the “perpification of everything” to AI-driven onchain security, here is their outlook on the ideas that could define crypto’s next chapter.
— Kaizen (@kaizen) November 26, 2025
Coinbase also foresees a rise in on-chain credit systems that combine on-chain reputation with off-chain data. This integration could unlock access to unsecured borrowing, tapping into a substantial trillion-dollar market.
AI Joins the Crypto Investment Ideas List
The final set of investment ideas revolves around Artificial Intelligence (AI). Coinbase anticipates significant growth in Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN), which are crucial for training robotics and embodied AI. Additionally, "proof-of-humanity" tools are expected to gain importance as the volume of AI-generated content increases. AI agents may soon empower non-technical founders to launch on-chain businesses with ease by managing tasks such as coding, audits, and monitoring.
🔥 NEW: Coinbase Ventures shared the ideas it’s most excited about for 2026, highlighting where the next breakout crypto projects may emerge. – RWA perpetuals – Specialized exchanges and Prop-AMMs – Prediction market trading terminals – Composable perp markets – Unsecured…
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) November 26, 2025
Conclusion
Coinbase's Crypto Investment Ideas underscore the ongoing development of crypto, positioning it as infrastructure for finance, AI, identity, and real-world markets. If these trends materialize, 2026 could represent more than just another crypto cycle; it could mark a period where crypto achieves mainstream adoption and becomes undeniably significant.