Galaxy: Crypto to Trade Sideways, Then Gradually Rise as Institutions, Stablecoins and Tokenization Gain
Steve Kurz of Galaxy Digital says the recent crypto sell-off was driven mainly by liquidity strains and deleveraging rather than systemic collapse. Galaxy’s 2026 outlook highlights accelerating adoption of stablecoins, tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) and deeper integration between blockchains and traditional finance. These trends are shifting crypto from an isolated asset class toward core financial infrastructure and are attracting rising institutional engagement across banks, wealth channels and asset allocators. Galaxy reports about $12 billion on platform and is expanding custody, infrastructure and asset-management products. Kurz expects most forced selling is behind the market; he forecasts a period of consolidation and range-bound trading rather than a V-shaped rebound, with gradual appreciation later in 2026 as institutional inflows resume. Risks include macro liquidity shocks and investor apathy, while near-term existential threats (eg, quantum computing) are downplayed. Traders should monitor stablecoin supply and on-chain activity, tokenization progress, and institutional allocation signals as primary adoption metrics. (Main keywords: crypto market, Galaxy Digital, liquidity, deleveraging, stablecoins, tokenization, institutional inflows.)
Neutral
The combined coverage frames the sell-off as a liquidity and leverage event rather than a systemic failure, and highlights structural, adoption-driven positives (stablecoins, RWA, institutional interest) that support a constructive long-term thesis. In the short term, Galaxy and Kurz expect range-bound trading and consolidation — not immediate strong upside — because most forced selling has been absorbed but institutions are still assessing allocations. This implies muted price action near term (neutral impact) with a gradual bullish tilt over months as institutional inflows and onchain adoption metrics improve. Key near-term catalysts to watch: stablecoin supply changes, large custody or allocation announcements, spikes in on-chain activity, and macro liquidity events. Downside risks (macro shocks, investor apathy) keep the immediate outlook from being classified as outright bullish.