B. Riley forecasts a structural change: by 2026 digital assets will shed their primary role as speculative instruments and become integrated elements of global financial infrastructure. The firm links this shift to maturing regulation and growing institutional adoption, which together create new, practical uses for blockchain-based systems. That evolution promises a move from price-driven interest toward operational utility within finance.
B. Riley’s Forecast for Digital Assets by 2026
According to B. Riley, 2026 represents an inflection point when digital assets complete a fundamental evolution and begin to function as infrastructure rather than mainly as investments. The analysis compares this transition to the early internet’s path from novelty to backbone, emphasizing that blockchain-based tools can provide operational services for finance. In this context, institutional pilots and regulatory bedding-down are central to enabling deployment at scale; similar themes appear in other market forecasts such as the Binance forecast.
Key Drivers of the Infrastructure Transition
- Regulatory frameworks that specify activity-based rules (for example, the EU’s MiCA) and create clearer compliance paths for institutions.
- Technological maturation of blockchain systems that supports operational use rather than only trading.
- Institutional adoption through pilot programs and deployments that test real-world workflows on blockchain networks.
- The rise of Digital Asset Treasury Companies (DATCOs) that shift toward services designed to generate recurring revenue.
New Use Cases for Digital Assets
As the focus moves from speculation to utility, several practical applications are taking shape that treat tokens and ledgers as tools for finance. These use cases emphasize balance-sheet and operational benefits instead of short-term price moves. Tokenization, treasury automation and integration with decentralized finance elements all reflect this practical orientation.
- Tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), which links large parts of traditional finance directly to blockchain networks.
- Blockchain-based treasury management aimed at improving operations and capturing efficiencies.
- DeFi and related strategies used by institutions and specialized firms to create revenue streams beyond token appreciation.
- Operational cost savings and new fee-based services that come from embedding blockchain into workflows.
Market Impact and Future Outlook
B. Riley identifies 2026 as the moment when regulatory implementation and institutional pilots converge to allow broader deployment of blockchain-based financial services. That timeline is presented as the reason for choosing 2026 as a turning point, tied explicitly to the expected enactment and bedding-down of major frameworks such as the EU’s MiCA. Analysts discussing tokenization and institutional trends offer related perspectives, for example in pieces on Bernstein tokenization.
Under this framework, established digital assets would increasingly be used for functional roles inside finance, while entities like DATCOs pursue operations-led revenue models. The result described in the forecast is a reorientation of parts of the market from speculation toward utility, supported by clearer regulation and institutional interest.
Why this matters (short for miners in Russia)
Regulatory clarity—highlighted by B. Riley as a prime driver—mainly affects institutional players and the rules they must follow; it does not automatically change the technical basics of running mining equipment. At the same time, a shift toward utility and institutional use can change market dynamics that indirectly touch miners: for example, demand patterns for major assets could evolve as usage shifts from pure trading to operational roles.
Digital Asset Treasury Companies (DATCOs) and tokenization are focused on serving corporations and large investors rather than small-scale miners. That means most operational changes described in the forecast concern institutions building new services on blockchains, not individual mining setups. For a household or small-rig operator, the immediate technical and electrical requirements remain the same.
What to do? Practical steps for miners with 1–1,000 devices
Keep monitoring regulatory developments and local rules because institutional adoption and clearer frameworks can influence taxation, reporting and compliance norms over time. Maintaining awareness helps avoid surprises if regional authorities update requirements tied to digital-asset operations or energy use.
- Ensure equipment and firmware are up to date and perform regular maintenance to maximize uptime and efficiency.
- Track operating costs (electricity, cooling) and look for modest efficiency gains that lower breakeven thresholds.
- Keep clear records of mined assets, income and expenses to simplify tax reporting and potential audits.
- Join local miner communities to share experience on regulation, pooling, and reliable service providers.
