Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at the venture firm Dragonfly, presented an overview of crypto market expectations for 2026, highlighting several enduring trends he believes will shape the industry’s behavior. He anticipates that the coming year will more likely confirm existing development directions rather than lead to radical shifts, even amid potential sharp market fluctuations. Qureshi also emphasized priorities for investors and developers: project robustness, broad distribution, and practical application.
Haseeb Qureshi’s 2026 Forecast Overview
According to his assessment, Bitcoin will maintain its role as the market’s base asset while strengthening its price component: Qureshi expects Bitcoin to end 2026 above $150,000. At the same time, he predicts Bitcoin’s share of the total market will decrease, reflecting increased activity in other industry segments. Qureshi is skeptical about new blockchains with flashy fintech branding, believing they are unlikely to achieve widespread and sustainable use.
He forecasts continued developer concentration around infrastructures focused on neutrality and composability, seeing Ethereum and Solana outperforming expectations in this context. Qureshi also expects deeper corporate involvement in payment and financial services and predicts that at least one major tech company will either launch or acquire a crypto wallet. On the topic of corporate products, there is a separate overview of crypto wallets that explores possible scenarios for large players’ participation.
Market Structure Changes and DeFi
In the decentralized finance segment, Qureshi expects market consolidation: he believes a few dominant platforms will capture most of the on-chain perpetual futures trading, while smaller platforms will compete for the residual share. He also notes that product innovations may change trader behavior, particularly through derivatives formats and liquidity mechanisms prioritizing coordinated executions over open order books. With increasing product complexity, Qureshi warns of reputational risks and predicts at least one insider scandal related to DeFi will attract widespread attention.
Payments and Stablecoins
Qureshi identifies payment infrastructure as his strongest conviction: he expects a sharp increase in stablecoin supply in 2026, with most remaining dollar-denominated. He emphasizes that distribution is as important as issuance—new payment rails can significantly accelerate stablecoin adoption in everyday transactions. He believes these channels will especially impact stablecoin spread in developing regions.
Regulation and Politics
On the political front, Qureshi expects US lawmakers to advance a crypto market structure bill in 2026 after lengthy negotiations, though the final version may leave some participants dissatisfied. He also warns of heightened political scrutiny on projects linked to American politics and possible congressional investigations that could expose questionable deals and cause reputational damage for market participants. Importantly, Qureshi connects regulation to the broader picture of adoption and risk.
Prediction Markets, AI, and Security
Qureshi anticipates rapid growth in prediction markets as they gain cultural acceptance, though legal uncertainty will persist; he believes a few consumer platforms will attract most attention, while most copies will fail to gain traction. In AI, he thinks the near-term benefits for crypto will focus on developer tools and security rather than mass automation for end users. He expects small teams to release more complex products using AI workflows, and cybersecurity to improve through automated monitoring, although attacks will not disappear.
Why It Matters
For miners in Russia, Qureshi’s main conclusions mean Bitcoin remains a key asset: a price rise above $150,000 could change mining profitability ratios and the impact of alternative assets, though Bitcoin itself may not take a larger market share. Simultaneously, expanding stablecoin supply and payment infrastructure development could increase on-chain transaction volumes, indirectly affecting demand for computing resources.
The regulatory aspect is also important: US bill advancement does not change Russian rules directly but may influence global capital flows and corporate activity, including corporate wallet launches and blockchain integration in banking processes. Finally, growing product complexity in DeFi and AI use in security imply rising operational risks and infrastructure reliability demands.
What to Do?
If you operate from one to a thousand devices, first monitor costs and liquidity: with Bitcoin price growth, recalculate profitability considering fees and electricity consumption to assess whether maintaining current scale remains sensible. Simultaneously, track payment channel and stablecoin developments—this is crucial for liquidity evaluation and fund withdrawal methods.
Practical steps: regularly update firmware and monitoring software, reserve funds in reliable wallets, and consider reputational risks when engaging with new DeFi products. It also makes sense to read related reviews, such as the Bitcoin 2026 forecast and other analytical materials, to compare scenarios and make informed decisions.
Note that Qureshi disclosed investments in some assets he mentioned—this helps interpret his perspective but does not constitute automatic practical advice for miners with different risk profiles.