What are the crypto assets to look forward to in 2026? Check with Giottus CEO

Kolkata: The year 2025 has been a year of growth of SIPs (Systematic Investment Plan) in crypto currency. Exerts have also pointed out that equity investors could take advantage of the dip in crypto prices in 2025 to diversify their portfolio. But what can 2026 hold for crypto assets? What can be the crypto assets to look forward to in 2026? What are going to be the trends? Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus, which is an FIU-compliant Indian cryptocurrency exchange and investment platform.

Subburaj indicates that as we are stepping into 2026, crypto market seems to be maturing with the conversation shifting from "speculative frenzy towards durability, revenue visibility, and institutional relevance". Subburaj points out that this year has been marked by sharp drawdowns, regulatory recalibration, and selective recoveries and in this climate investors are prioritising protocols that demonstrate clear cash flows, defensible moats, and credible long-term narratives. Bloomberg Intelligence has reiterated that the next phase of crypto growth is perhaps going to be driven by depth and not be breath, which indicates that there would be fewer assets with stronger fundamentals in the arena.

The Giottus CEO says considering this backdrop, a few crypto assets stand out for 2026. But he hastens to add that they seem to be at the intersection of adoption, technology and economic sustanability and do not necessarily promise windfall returns.

Pendle happens to be a DeFi (Decentralised Finance) protocol that enables the separation and subsequent trading of yield from yield-bearing assets. "Pendle has emerged as one of the most structurally important decentralised finarice protocols of this cycle by doing something deceptively simple. It separates yield from principal and turns future returns into tradable instruments," Subburaj points out. As yield-bearing assets became central to Defi once again, Pendle's total value locked surged and touched roughty $3.4 billion by late 2025. It had peaked near $12 billion during September's yield-trading boom.

The token's 180%-plus appreciation over the past year reflects more than market exuberance. Pendle generates protocol revenue directly linked to trading activity. Thereby, It creates a clearer valuation framework than many DeFi peers. "Backing from institutions such as Binance Labs, the Spartan Group, and the Arbitrum Foundation has further strengthened its credibility. From a technical perspective, traders have treated the $4-$4.50 range as a medium-term support zone in late-2025 price action. This suggests accumulation rather than distribution," points out the Giottus CEO.

Aave is a an opne source protocol which creates non-custodial liquidity markets. In other words it allows users lend, borrow, and earn interest on crypto assets without a central bank and employs smart contracts on blockchains. Users deposit crypto into liquidity pools to earn interest, while borrowers can take loans by providing collateral.

"Aave remains the undisputed heavyweight of decentralised lending. It had deposits totaling nearly $40 billion by December 2025 and has effectively become the base layer for on-chain credit markets. What distinguishes Aave in this cycle is not scale alone, but consistency. Protocol revenues have grown by more than 50% year-on-year, funding ecosystem grants, security upgrades, and staking rewards without excessive token dilution," says Subburaj.

"This feedback loop of higher usage, higher revenue, and stronger incentives has reinforced Aave's role as crypto's closest analogue to a systemically important financial institution. Market participants have closely watched the $90-5100 band as a key technical floor through recent corrections," he adds.

Hyperliquid has quietly become one of the most influential decentralised trading venues of 2025. HYPE has 500,000 users and cumulative trading volumes exceeding $3 trillion. It has captured a meaningful share of perpetuals trading, which is traditionally dominated by centralised exchanges.

"Concerns around token unlocks weighed on sentiment eartier in the year. However, on-chaln data shows that roughly three-quarters of unlocked tokens were either restaked or held. The platform's Assistance Fund has also deployed fee revenue to repurchase approximately $78 million in HYPE, thereby softening supply pressure. A second airdrop expected in 2026 could further entrench user loyalty," points out the Giottus CEO.

Zcash is a cryptocurrency that focusses on privacy. Users can conduct transactions privately or transparently. For example, while Bitcoin transactions are all public, Zcash offers optional privacy.

Subburaj states that Zcash's resurgence, up more than 400% over the past year, reflects a broader reassessment of privacy in an increasingly surveilled digital economy. The protocol's roadmap towards post-quantum security has attracted renewed institutional interest, particularly as long-term cryptographic resitience becomes a board-level concern.

"The Sapling upgrade in late 2025 reduced shielded transaction memory usage by roughly 96%. This is a technical milestone that enables practical mobile privacy wallets. From a market-structure standpoint, ZEC has repeatedly found demand in the $30-$35 range. This level has served as a base during recent pullbacks," saus the expert.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) is a DeFi (decentralised finance) crypto project backed by US president Donald Trump's family and this new asset has attracted outsized attention. The team has disclosed on-chain buybacks totaling roughly $10 million and this resulted in the acquisition of over 46 million WLFI tokens.

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"Analyst projections circulating in the market suggest price targets ranging from $0.41 to $0.51 in bullish scenarios. However, such forecasts remain highly speculative and sensitive to political developments. For investors, WLFI represents less of a technological bet and more of a proxy for narrative-driven adoption. This is a reminder that in crypto, perception can still move markets as powerfully as fundamentals," points out The Giottus CEO.

"Selectivity, patience, and a willingness to look beyond headlines could be rewarded. The market is no longer short of ideas. But it is increasingly intolerant of weak execution," quips Subburaj summing up.