Day of the Week: How Will the Capital Market Change in 2026

The global cryptocurrency market is at a critical juncture. Every day of the week, from Monday to Sunday, institutional investors are developing new strategies to capitalize on the ongoing evolution of digital finance. The year 2026 is not just a continuation of past trends — it is the pivot point where the capital markets will truly become operational 24/7, no longer stopping for weekends or holidays.

Tokenization and 24/7 Settlement: The Next Stage

Major capital markets have long operated on a system that has been in place for decades. Prices are discovered through access, batch settlement, and collateral with limitations. But that paradigm is now about to be shattered.

As tokenization advances faster and the settlement cycle accelerates from days to seconds, 2026 will be the year when the continuous market is no longer just a promise — it will become a real structure. Market players are re-evaluating their forecasts, and here is where their ambitions diverge. According to projections, the tokenized asset market will reach $18.9 trillion by 2033, representing a 53% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This is a conservative estimate — the true potential could be even greater.

Experts believe that by 2040, up to 80% of all assets worldwide could be tokenized. The S-curve of adoption follows a predictable pattern — similar to mobile phones or commercial aviation in the past. The shift toward a 24/7 market is not just about trading hours. It’s about capital efficiency.

Currently, institutions prepare assets days in advance. Onboarding a new asset requires collateral positioning and can take 5-7 days. Pre-funding requirements and settlement risks tie capital to legacy T+2 and T+1 cycles, creating systemic lag. Tokenization aims to reduce this delay. When collateral becomes fungible and settlement occurs within seconds, portfolios can be continuously relocated by institutions. Equities, bonds, and digital assets are becoming interchangeable parts of a single, always-on capital allocation strategy.

Regulatory Clarity and Institutional Adoption: What Happened Last Week

Last week was filled with significant developments for the industry. While the US and UK are retracting in some regulatory aspects, global adoption continues to accelerate.

Interactive Brokers (IBKR), one of the leading electronic trading platforms, launched a feature allowing clients to deposit USDC (and in the future, Ripple’s RLUSD and PayPal’s PYUSD) to fund their accounts instantly, available 24/7. This is a practical demonstration of continuous settlement infrastructure.

In South Korea, regulators lifted nearly a decade-long corporate crypto investment ban. Public companies can now hold up to 5% of their equity capital in crypto assets, limited to leading tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum. This change has opened institutional capital in the region.

On the regulatory front, the CLARITY Act faces a challenging path due to controversy over stablecoin yields. Traditional banks and non-bank issuers have conflicting interests. The fine points need to be sidelined, and compromises made to advance this critical legislation.

SEC approval of the DTCC securities tokenization program is also crucial. This approval will provide part of the regulatory foundation needed for broader adoption.

The Market Today: Bitcoin and Ethereum in 2026

Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $88.28K, down 1.13% in the past 24 hours and 2.05% over the past week. Its all-time high reached $126.08K. Ethereum is currently at $2.95K, down 1.93% in 24 hours.

The 30-day rolling correlation of Bitcoin with gold has turned positive for the first time this year, reaching 0.40. This is a significant technical development indicating Bitcoin’s increasing role as a safe-haven asset, similar to gold. But the sustained uptrend is not guaranteed. If gold continues to appreciate, it could support Bitcoin. Otherwise, the divergence from traditional safe-haven assets may persist.

The Outlook for Crypto in Year Two: Challenges and Opportunities

2025 has been a “freshman year” for crypto in the traditional capital markets ecosystem. The initial excitement from election results has been tempered by a year of regulation, infrastructure building, and market maturation. The quarters have been diverse in mood — from optimism to tariff tantrums, then recovery and relapse.

To avoid the well-known “sophomore slump” in 2026, the industry must focus on three aspects:

First: Passing crucial legislation — The CLARITY Act must be enacted, even with compromises. A regulatory framework for stablecoins is critical for the 24/7 settlement vision.

Second: Distribution channels — Until crypto reaches retail, mass affluent, and institutional segments with incentives similar to other asset classes, adoption will remain limited. Products need to be sold, not just available.

Third: Quality focus — The CoinDesk 20 outperformed the mid-cap CoinDesk 80 last year. Larger, high-quality digital assets will continue to dominate. The top 20 projects — money, smart contract platforms, DeFi protocols, core infrastructure — offer diversity without cognitive overload.

The Real Opportunity: Operational Readiness

For institutions, 2026 will be a year of operational pressure. Risk, treasury, and settlement teams must transition from discrete batch cycles to continuous processes. This means:

• 24/7 collateral management
• Real-time AML/KYC procedures
• Digital custody integration
• Acceptance of stablecoins as settlement rails

Institutions that make this transition will gain a flow advantage that others cannot match. Infrastructure is already being built — regulated custodians and credit intermediation solutions are moving from proof-of-concept to production.

So the real question in 2026 is not whether the market will be 24/7 — it will be. The question is: Can your institution operate within this new paradigm? If not, you risk being left behind in the old system.

The Pudgy Penguin Moment: NFT Native Brand Evolution

Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of the cycle. Its shift from speculative digital luxury goods to a multi-vertical consumer IP platform has set a new template.

Their strategy is simple but effective: acquire users through mainstream channels first (toys, retail partnerships, viral media), then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs, and PENGU token. The ecosystem now covers phygital products (>$13M retail sales, >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party reached 500K downloads in two weeks), and widely distributed tokens (airdropped to 6M+ wallets).

While the market prices Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution in retail expansion, gaming adoption, and deeper token utility.

Conclusion: 2026 as an Inflection Point

Every day of 2026 will bring new developments to the 24/7 capital market ecosystem. Tokenization is not just a technical innovation — it is a structural transformation that will reshape how global finance operates.

Institutions ready to adapt will gain a competitive advantage. Those that do not may miss the new paradigm. The year 2026 is not just a continuation of 2025 — it is the true industry pivot point.