The trend in the crypto industry is quietly shifting. Industry insiders point out that starting this year, the emergence of new blockchain technologies is no longer the main focus; the real protagonist has become — how existing technologies penetrate traditional fields such as finance, computing, and media.

Prediction markets are at the forefront. With the deep integration of AI and encryption technologies, what will this track look like by 2026? Larger scale is fundamental, but the key is that it will become increasingly complex. Not only will the number of contracts explode, but they also need to solve an old problem — how to determine the truth in controversial outcomes. This requires smarter market design.

Progress in zero-knowledge virtual machines is eye-opening. The cost of generating proofs is plummeting, which means verifiable computation is no longer a high-cold lab product. From cloud CPU workloads to consumer-grade devices, this technology is gradually becoming a practical solution. 2026 is likely to be a turning point where cryptographic proofs break into non-blockchain industries.

Deeper changes are fermenting — when prediction market scale explodes, cryptographic proofs are embedded into enterprise systems, and "real money" investments become the new trust foundation, the entire industry’s game rules will change. Driven by advances in cryptography, artificial intelligence, and market design, crypto-native tools are quietly penetrating various industries beyond decentralized finance. Blockchain is no longer the endpoint, but an invisible underlying infrastructure.