Coinbase Ventures: Ideas we are excited for in 2026
$Coinbase Global, Inc.(COIN)$ Ventures' latest "2026 Investment Outlook" presents a very clear viewpoint:
2026 will be a year of convergence for on-chain finance, on-chain infrastructure, and AI. The next wave of breakthrough projects is likely to come from the following four areas:
By Coinbase Ventures Team
1⃣ RWA Perpetual Contracts: From Tokenization to Universal Perpetuality
Coinbase believes that the next stage of RWA will not stop at tokenization but will shift towards providing synthetic exposure through perpetual contracts.
Perpetual products do not require holding underlying assets, have fast deployment speeds, and are applicable to a wider range of asset classes, including:
Private company equity
Commodities, economic data
Macroeconomic indicators such as credit spreads, inflation expectations, and volatility
RWA perpetual contracts will become a key hub connecting off-chain assets and on-chain liquidity.
2⃣ Specialized Trading Terminals: Upgrading On-Chain Market Structure
With the maturity of perpetual contract DEXs and app-chains, Coinbase is focusing more on the evolution of "market structure" rather than simply the trading UI.
Key areas include:
Prop-AMM (Dedicated AMM): Protecting market makers and isolating predatory order flows.
Specialized trading terminals: Unifying liquidity and odds across different platforms, providing advanced trading tools.
Cross-platform intelligent routing and position management.
The goal is to elevate the on-chain trading experience to an institutional level.
3⃣ Next-Generation DeFi: From Single-Point Protocols to Composable Systems
Coinbase believes that the focus of DeFi is undergoing a structural shift, with core trends including:
1) Persistence × Composable Lending
Traders can maintain leverage while earning collateral yields, improving capital efficiency.
Hyperliquid and Lighter have already implemented this type of integration.
2) Unsecured Collateral and On-Chain Credit
2026 is expected to see a new credit model combining on-chain reputation and off-chain data.
This is the next large-scale infrastructure for DeFi.
3) Privacy Becomes Standard
Technologies such as ZKP/FHE/MPC will drive the implementation of private order books, privacy payments, and privacy lending.
4⃣ AI and Robotics: A Revolution in Data, Identity, and Development Methods
Coinbase's Three Key Directions:
Robotics × DePIN: Utilizing on-chain incentives to collect physical interaction data for embodied AI training
Proof of Humanity: Addressing the identity verification challenges posed by the proliferation of AI content
AI Agent Development Tools: Smart contract development will usher in a "Copilot moment," encompassing everything from automated generation to automated auditing
These tools could directly change the barriers to entry and the speed of on-chain development by 2026.
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