Coinbase Ventures has (*9*) 9 key funding areas it believes will outline crypto’s subsequent progress section, starting from real-world asset perpetuals to AI-powered robotics, because the agency seeks to deploy capital in an more and more refined blockchain ecosystem.
The enterprise arm, which manages a portfolio of 422 corporations throughout 618 complete investments since its 2018 founding, launched its 2026 priorities because the crypto enterprise market experiences its strongest fundraising interval because the FTX collapse.
This launch got here as third-quarter funding reached $4.65 billion, marking a 290% surge from the earlier quarter.
Quick time period worth strikes don’t measure long run progress. 2025 was an enormous 12 months for elementary progress in crypto adoption and innovation.
We’re sharing 9 concepts we’re able to again that would outline crypto’s subsequent huge factor in 2026. They break down into 4 foremost themes:
pic.twitter.com/cqyYMBssUr
— Coinbase Ventures
(@cbventures) November 25, 2025
Perpetuals and Buying and selling Infrastructure Lead Funding Themes
Coinbase Ventures recognized real-world asset perpetuals as its high precedence, with Normal Companion Kinji Steimetz describing the class as enabling “artificial publicity to offchain property by perpetual futures contracts.”
The agency expects markets to type round all the things from personal corporations to financial information prints, a phenomenon Steimetz termed the “perpification of all the things.“
Specialised buying and selling infrastructure represents one other core focus, significantly prediction market aggregators that would consolidate over $600 million in fragmented liquidity throughout venues like Polymarket and Kalshi.
Subsequent-generation DeFi protocols additionally captured consideration, with composability in perpetual markets permitting merchants to earn yield on collateral whereas sustaining leveraged positions, as perpetual DEX volumes hit $1.4 trillion month-to-month.
Unsecured Lending and Privateness Options Draw Focus
Unsecured credit score markets emerged as what Normal Companion Jonathan King referred to as “DeFi’s subsequent frontier,” with the U.S. alone holding $1.3 trillion in revolving unsecured credit score strains that crypto infrastructure might doubtlessly seize.
King emphasised the problem lies in designing sustainable threat fashions that mix onchain status with offchain information.
Privateness-preserving applied sciences gained renewed emphasis, with Normal Companion Ethan Oak noting that mainstream adoption might require customers to take care of monetary confidentiality.
The agency can also be monitoring privacy-focused property and DeFi purposes utilizing superior cryptography, together with zero-knowledge proofs and trusted execution environments.
AI-powered onchain growth instruments characterize what King described as good contract growth’s “GitHub Copilot second,” doubtlessly enabling non-technical founders to launch onchain companies inside hours by automated code era and safety opinions.
Robotics Information and Digital Id Spherical Out Priorities
Bodily robotics information assortment emerged as a longer-term wager, with Steimetz figuring out a crucial hole in coaching information for robotic techniques, significantly fine-grained bodily interplay information involving grip stress and manipulation of deformable supplies.
Decentralized bodily infrastructure networks might present a framework for scaling high-quality information assortment.
Proof of humanity options closed out the listing, with Normal Companion Hoolie Tejwani warning that digital content material is approaching a tipping level the place AI-generated materials turns into indistinguishable from human creation.
Coinbase Ventures backs Worldcoin as one method, although Tejwani indicated the agency would help a number of options.
In abstract, the 9 precedence areas embody:
- RWA perpetuals
- Proprietary AMMs
- Prediction market buying and selling terminals
- Perpetual markets composability
- Unsecured lending
- Onchain privateness
- Robotics information assortment
- Proof of humanity
- AI growth instruments.
President and COO Emilie Choi stated, “In case you’re constructing in these areas, get in contact,” with Chief Enterprise Officer Shan Aggarwal additionally adding that “the subsequent wave of capital markets innovation might be constructed onchain.“
Enterprise Funding Surges Regardless of Market Volatility
The funding priorities come as crypto venture funding roared back in the third quarter, hitting $4.65 billion, the second-highest stage since FTX’s collapse despatched shockwaves by the business in late 2022.
The 290% surge from Q2 displays the strongest quarter since early 2023’s $4.8 billion tally, in line with Galaxy Digital information.
Capital flowed primarily into stablecoins, AI-driven crypto instruments, blockchain infrastructure, and buying and selling expertise all through the quarter.
Regardless of the headline leap, deployment remained closely concentrated throughout 414 enterprise offers, with simply seven accounting for half of all cash invested.
Revolut led with a $1 billion spherical, adopted by Kraken’s $500 million and Erebor’s $250 million.
Galaxy’s head of analysis, Alex Thorn, mentioned the rebound reveals enterprise urge for food for digital-asset startups stays stronger than anticipated, although exercise stays under the 2021-2022 bull-market tempo.
The US captured 47% of invested capital and 40% of accomplished offers, with Thorn anticipating “US dominance to extend, significantly now that the GENIUS Act is regulation and particularly if Congress can go a crypto market construction invoice.“
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