Hashed Sees 2026 as the Year Digital Assets Become a True Economy, With Asia Leading the Way
Korean venture firm Hashed has laid out its 2026 investment thesis, positioning stablecoins, AI agents, and on-chain credit markets as the backbone of a genuine digital economy. Asia is emerging as the first region where enterprise adoption is beginning to take shape.
The firm argues that the crypto market is shifting from storytelling to structure, with 2026 set to mark a turning point. Digital assets are expected to behave less like speculative instruments and more like functioning components of an economy. Stablecoins will act as global settlement rails, while AI agents could operate as autonomous economic participants, redefining where meaningful value is created.
In its Protocol Economy 2026 report, Hashed highlights early signs of adoption in Asia: regulated stablecoin pilots, AI agent deployments, and growing on-chain workflows for real-world assets (RWA) and treasury operations are laying the foundation for enterprise blockchain systems.
Hashed believes that the investable frontier now lies in these structural layers, where programmable rails for payments, credit, and settlement enable adaptive economic systems built on stable liquidity and verifiable demand. The firm is focusing on projects with real users and sustained on-chain activity, rather than hype-driven ventures.
This marks a correction from the past two years, when excess liquidity and speculative flows made it difficult to distinguish which sectors were generating genuine usage. Today, stablecoins, on-chain credit, and automation infrastructure are emerging as areas where activity compounds rather than spikes. Regulatory frameworks in Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore are accelerating this trend by enabling stablecoin settlement, tokenized deposits, and RWA issuance within existing financial systems.
AI is expected to further drive this evolution by programmatically routing payments, managing liquidity, and executing transactions, boosting demand for transparent, automated rails. The next phase of growth, Hashed concludes, will favor builders operating at the intersection of liquidity and automation—the space the firm is prioritizing for 2026 investments.
Market Snapshot
- BTC: Trading around $92,000, failing to hold near $94,000; consolidating in a low-liquidity range of $85,000–$95,000.
- ETH: Holding above $3,100, outperforming Bitcoin as the broader market trades sideways.
- Gold: Around $4,200, supported by a weaker USD but constrained by higher Treasury yields.
- Nikkei 225: Opened lower, with Nikkei down 1.36% and Topix off 1.12%, following a muted Wall Street session.
