According to Grayscale, the increasing demand for alternative stores of value and clearer regulations are propelling what might become the next crypto bull market.
On CNBC’s “Crypto World,” Grayscale’s head of research, Zach Pandl, noted on Monday that the primary catalyst is macroeconomic pressure. Rising government debt, ongoing fiscal deficits, and worries about fiat currency devaluation are encouraging investors to seek options beyond traditional assets.
“Many factors are at play in crypto … but the leading asset, Bitcoin, is propelled by the desire for alternative stores of value, driven by debt and deficits as well as the threat of fiat currency depreciation,” he stated.
Pandl added that these macroeconomic imbalances are set to persist in the near future, indicating that portfolio adjustments will likely continue into 2026.
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Grayscale anticipates heightened regulatory clarity in 2026
The second key factor fueling the crypto bull market is regulatory advancements. Grayscale foresees bipartisan progress on a US crypto market structure bill by early 2026, following delays from political gridlock and a government shutdown. While the legislation stalled in 2025, Pandl mentioned that momentum has rebounded, with lawmakers from both parties expressing interest in creating clearer federal guidelines for digital assets.
“We’ve made significant strides this year regarding the operational landscape for crypto businesses in the United States. Still, there’s more work ahead,” he emphasized.
Pandl believes that regulatory clarity might enable startups, established firms, and even Fortune 500 companies to issue tokens as part of their financing, alongside stocks and bonds. He suggested that token issuance could become a common financing method once the legal frameworks surrounding digital assets are firmly in place.
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Big Tech and banks expected to accelerate crypto adoption in 2026: Dragonfly
Echoing Pandl’s insights, Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi stated that a major tech company is likely to incorporate a crypto wallet in 2026, potentially bringing billions of users onboard. He speculated that firms such as Google, Meta, or Apple might launch or acquire a wallet.
Qureshi also anticipates that more Fortune 100 companies, especially in the banking and fintech sectors, will develop their own blockchains. These networks are expected to be private or permissioned but will maintain connections to public chains, utilizing infrastructures like Avalanche and modular stacks such as OP Stack and ZK Stack.
Numerous significant financial institutions, including JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs, have already constructed private blockchain systems, although most remain limited in scope or experimental.
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