2026 PREDICTIONS

Summary from the TLDR Crypto newsletter

DeFi TVL will surpass 2025's $101B peak while Solana validator count drops to ~500, and Ethereum scales mainnet but won't meaningfully bring users home from L2s, with at least 3 L2s shutting down due to no revenue. The stablecoin landscape will shift as USDT/USDC dominance falls below 70% with boutique offerings gaining share, and Polymarket will announce its own chain while Hyperliquid reclaims 50% OI dominance. Market structure will evolve with P/E ratios becoming accepted valuation metrics, exposing blockchain tokens as overvalued, as value shifts toward applications.