The direction of the crypto market in 2026 has already been clearly predicted by some institutions. According to industry observations, the main market focus for the coming year will be on "compliance" and "technology," capturing the most essential development trends in the industry at present. After years of wild expansion and regulatory adjustments, compliance building and technological breakthroughs have become the rigid requirements for projects to survive.

Let's first look at compliance. The US has been continuously advancing crypto-related legislation, and Hong Kong's stablecoin licensing system is also being rolled out gradually. Global regulatory frameworks are becoming increasingly clear. This change directly reduces the concerns of large institutions entering the market. You will find that major professional service firms like PwC are now systematically developing services in the crypto field—from financial auditing and consulting to compliance management—forming a complete service chain. This actually indicates that crypto assets are gradually being integrated into the mainstream global financial ecosystem.

Technological innovation is the engine driving this process. For example, the emergence of privacy chain technology makes "compliance" and "privacy protection" no longer mutually exclusive. Embedding compliance requirements into infrastructure at the code level can meet regulatory demands while safeguarding user privacy. Additionally, the combination of AI and encryption is improving market operation efficiency, making on-chain asset liquidity smarter. The technical upgrades of mainstream public chains like Ethereum lay the foundation for large-scale applications in terms of performance.

For projects to do well next year, they must possess both compliance operation capabilities and technological innovation skills—walking on two legs. For investors, under the compliance framework, selecting projects with genuine technological strength is a smart choice that can both control risks and seize opportunities. Ultimately, the on-chain of financial assets still relies on the two pillars of compliance and technology to support it.