Hashdex goes bullish on stablecoins, tokenized assets, AI crypto in 2026 forecast

Former president of The ETF Store and current NovaDius Wealth Management President, Nate Geraci, outlined Hashdex’s 2026 cryptocurrency forecast on X, discussing the fate of stablecoins, tokenized assets, and AI-driven crypto markets. 

According to the Hashdex forecast, the stablecoin market capitalization will double, tokenized real-world assets will grow tenfold, and the investments in the exponentially growing “AI crypto” sector will balloon to a $10 billion valuation.

‘Cryptodollar’ to replace ‘petrodollar’ amid USD stablecoin adoption rates 

Hashdex’s prediction for 2026 signals that the stablecoin market could expand from $295 billion to more than $500 billion. The economists propounded that while China and Russia continue reducing dependence on the US dollar, stablecoins are effectively “re-dollarizing” global finance in the UAE and Latin America. 

Payments via platforms such as PayPal in the United States, and USDC adoption in countries like Brazil, mean there is strong international reliance on dollar-backed digital currencies.

The high inflation and current-account deficits during the Vietnam War era weakened the dollar, prompting a 1971 suspension of dollar convertibility to gold. By 1973, major currencies began floating freely, and the oil embargo by OPEC later that year took global energy markets away from dollar dependency. 

Half a century later, the United States has reduced its dependence on Saudi oil, while Middle Eastern nations now seek access to the USD stablecoin market.

In late November, Ripple’s dollar-backed stablecoin RLUSD gained clearance for use within the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and is formally recognized as an Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token. 

The regulatory approval allows licensed firms to conduct regulated activities with the RLUSD within the ADGM financial ecosystem, adding more dollars in circulation on the market. 

Tokenization of real-world assets accelerates

The 2026 forecast also mentioned tokenized assets as a growth area, with market capitalization expected to surge from $36 billion to approximately $400 billion. 

Financial institutions, including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, UBS, and Siemens, are rebuilding infrastructure on blockchain to accommodate this transformation. The global addressable market for tokenized assets is estimated at $664 trillion, emphasizing the sector’s long-term potential.

US-based regulatory developments, including the GENIUS Act have convinced more countries to rethink their digital asset laws. While the act initially addressed digital currencies, its next phase could influence other governments to reduce the friction financial firms had faced trying to offer tokenized assets to their clientele. 

Cryptopolitan reported on Saturday that Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Binance to tokenize up to $2 billion in state-owned assets. The partnership also includes plans for a national stablecoin and blockchain-based distribution of sovereign bonds, treasury bills, and commodity reserves such as oil, gas, and metals.

Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb termed the MoU “a sign of reform to deliver results with speed and quality.”

AI boom strengthens case for crypto investment

Artificial intelligence is a catalyst for cryptocurrency growth in itself, and Hashdex believes the AI crypto market could reach $10 billion in 2026. The crypto asset manager noted that blockchain technology’s verification, coordination, and economic autonomy created opportunities for AI-driven investments.

AI chip sales have surged, exemplified by Nvidia’s $57 billion revenue in the three months ending October under the demand for processors used in AI training. 

However, as reported by the World Economic Forum, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai said “no company would be immune” to an AI market bubble burst. This anxiety has tempered speculative appetite for cryptos, with Bitcoin’s 30% price decline since October causing panic of a broader market correction. 

“We can look back at the Internet right now. There was clearly a lot of excess investment, but none of us would question whether the Internet was profound. I expect AI to be the same. So I think it’s both rational and there are elements of irrationality through a moment like this,” Pichai said, speaking to the BBC at Google’s California headquarters.

Still, Hashdex’s report showed that crypto represents roughly 1% of the global investable market, and a 5% crypto allocation increased annualized returns from 7.2% to 8.7% for a traditional 60/40 portfolio over the period from April 2022 to September 2025. 

Nate Geraci further pointed out that 45% of financial advisors surveyed by Charles Schwab plan to allocate funds to crypto ETFs in 2026.

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