CoinShares: Crypto’s Next Phase Is Utility Over Price Action
CoinShares says 2025 marked a decisive shift in crypto from speculative price focus to real-world utility and integration into traditional finance. The firm highlights Bitcoin’s new all-time highs and broader institutional adoption—spot Bitcoin ETFs gaining traction—as signs the market has matured. Progress in 2025 included stronger infrastructure, practical protocol adoption (example: Chainlink as an oracle connector), regulated crypto-enabled products (prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi), and tokenised financial products moving from pilots toward issuance. CoinShares expects 2026 to be driven more by adoption than macro catalysts: app-based retail savings, stablecoin settlement by payment firms and banks, and expanded custody/trading services. Regulation, particularly clearer frameworks in the US and pragmatic implementation in Europe, is seen as enabling scale rather than suppressing innovation. The firm warns micro-bubbles and project failures will continue, but says winners will be defined by economic function (cash flows, settlement utility) not narrative momentum. For traders, CoinShares’ view signals a market maturing toward utility-focused assets and infrastructure rather than purely narrative-driven speculation.
Neutral
CoinShares’ report signals structural, long-term positives (integration with traditional finance, clearer regulation, product adoption) that are bullish for crypto fundamentals. However, these developments imply gradual, adoption-driven growth rather than an immediate price surge. The firm also warns micro-bubbles and project failures will persist, which introduces short-term volatility risk. Historically, similar shifts — e.g., institutional adoption narratives around 2020–2021 and the post-ETF approval periods — supported medium-to-long-term price appreciation but were accompanied by volatile drawdowns as markets reprice fundamentals and speculative themes unwind. For traders this means: expect increased interest and capital inflows into infrastructure, BTC and utility tokens over time (bullish medium-to-long term), but prepare for intermittent sell-offs and sector rotation (neutral to mixed short-term). Risk management, focus on liquid, utility-driven assets (BTC, major stablecoins, infrastructure tokens), and monitoring regulatory implementation will be key.