Three Financial Giants Predict Why Crypto Faces Its Hardest Test Yet in 2026

This year, crypto looked less like an experiment and more like a maturing market, shaped by institutional consolidation, faster-moving regulation, and growing macroeconomic pressure. 

As the industry moves toward 2026, its direction will depend on which assets can withstand institutional scrutiny and how recession risk, monetary policy shifts, and stablecoin adoption reshape crypto’s place within the dollar-based financial order.

Throughout 2025, BeInCrypto spoke with veteran investors and leading economists to assess where the crypto industry is headed and what lies ahead for a sector long defined by uncertainty.

Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary starts from a simple premise. As institutional capital moves in, crypto shifts away from endless token hunting and toward a narrow set of assets that can justify long-term allocation.

He pointed to his own experience as a case study. O’Leary began as a crypto skeptic, but as regulation started to take shape, he chose to gain exposure.

At first, that meant buying broadly. His portfolio grew to 27 tokens. He later concluded that the approach was excessive. Today, he holds just three cryptocurrencies, which he said are more than enough for his needs.

“If you statistically look at the volatility of just Bitcoin and Ethereum and a stablecoin for liquidity… That’s all I need to own,” O’Leary told BeInCrypto in a podcast episode.

For O’Leary, each asset serves a specific function. He described Bitcoin as an inflation hedge, often comparing it to digital gold defined by scarcity and decentralization. 

Ethereum, by contrast, serves not as a currency but as core infrastructure for a new financial system, with long-term growth tied to its technology. Stablecoins, he noted, were held for flexibility rather than upside.