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Cryptos next phase of growth is unfolding quietly, with crypto narratives shifting toward everyday use. Adoption in 2026 is increasingly shaped by how people already use crypto in daily financial life. In an interview with BeInCrypto, representatives from CakeWallet and SynFutures explained where crypto is realistically headed over the next year. According to them, payments, savings, and risk management are replacing speculation as the main drivers of sustained activity. Crypto as Everyday Money One of the clearest signs of real crypto adoption heading into 2026 is its growing role as everyday money, particularly in regions where traditional financial systems are unreliable or inaccessible. Rather than being used for speculation, crypto is increasingly becoming a practical tool for saving, spending, and transferring value. The answer to this varies widely based on where in the world you are, but I see two massive cases for growth in 2026, said Seth for Privacy, Vice President of CakeWallet. The first is in the Global South, where demand for stablecoins has skyrocketed in the last few years. Crypto adoption shifts from wallet counts to weekday spending as new behavioral metrics and loyalty economics redefine what real usage means. pic.twitter.com/Hv014vx6Ej Kira (@Kira_Crypto247) December 22, 2025 In these regions, crypto often fills gaps left by inflation, capital controls, or weak banking infrastructure. Stablecoins, in particular, allow people to hold value in a currency that does not rapidly depreciate, while remaining easy to transfer. The possibility for an average person in Nicaragua, for instance, to use stablecoins like USDT in a privacy-preserving way to store wealth and pay for real needs will help to protect and shield them against malice and theft, the executive explained. As crypto becomes more visible, privacy also becomes more important. For users relying on crypto for daily expenses, protecting transaction data is less about ideology and more about personal safety. In this context, adoption is driven by necessity rather than enthusiasm, and growth continues regardless of market cycles. As these use cases mature, the tools supporting themespecially stablecoinsare becoming increasingly central to how crypto functions globally. Stablecoin Yield and Payments While stablecoins have long been associated with emerging markets, their role is expanding rapidly across more developed economies as well. In 2026, they are increasingly positioned as a core financial tool rather than a temporary bridge between crypto and fiat. By far the biggest market left untapped today is the West, Seth said. Many people have overlooked the usefulness of stablecoins due to easy access to banking and fiat on-ramps. Our 2026 Infra Year Ahead Report is out now!Stablecoins have become the most important infrastructure story in crypto.Every fintech wave promised to fix payments but just layered better UX on the same infrastructure. Revolut and Nubank delivered better experiences while pic.twitter.com/zEhC6sndmv Delphi Digital (@Delphi_Digital) December 17, 2025 However, that perception may shift as users begin to compare the speed and simplicity of stablecoin transfers with traditional financial rails. For many, the appeal lies in avoiding delays, fees, and unnecessary intermediaries. Once these users grasp how much easier it is to move back and forth between something like Bitcoin and USDT instead of fiat, the pace of adoption will escalate exponentially, he added. Stablecoins are increasingly shaping how on-chain financial activity functions. More users will likely be attracted to stablecoins for passive income in 2026, tapping into DeFi yield. Stablecoins are becoming the base layer of DeFi trading and derivatives markets, said Wenny Cai, COO at SynFutures. She added that, rather than sitting idle, these assets are increasingly used as active balances. Users are beginning to treat stablecoins as working capitalfunds that are actively deployed, not just parked. This shift in how value is held and moved is also changing how users interact with crypto beyond simple payments. When Usage Becomes Intentional As crypto markets mature, user behavior is changing alongside them. Instead of chasing short-term price movements, many users are focusing on using crypto in more controlled and intentional ways. Well see them shift to using crypto as money, finally! Seth told BeInCrypto. When speculation dies down and prices stabilize, we will continue to see massive growth in usage of crypto to actually pay for goods and services. At the same time, some users are engaging with tools that allow them to better manage exposure and uncertainty. According to Cai, retail users in 2026 are gravitating toward active capital management, not passive speculation. Rather than overdiversifying, users are narrowing their focus. Instead of buying and holding dozens of tokens, users increasingly prefer to trade major assets with leverage, hedge downside risk, or deploy structured strategiesall on-chain, she explained. While the underlying mechanics can be complex, the motivation is straightforward. Users want more control, clearer outcomes, and fewer surprises. As user behavior evolves, adoption is also broadening across different groups and industries. DeFi and TradFi Integration Crypto adoption in 2026 is not limited to a single demographic. Instead, it spans individuals, businesses, and professional market participants, each driven by different needs. The biggest overall growth is still happening in the Global South, where real people have real needs today, not just a desire to speculate, Seth explained. Poor access to banking, rapidly depreciating fiat currencies, and harsh remittance controls make these countries especially ready to accelerate their usage of crypto in 2026. "But no one uses it as money!"For years, skeptics dismissed Bitcoin with the same tired line: "No one actually uses it for payments."That argument no longer stands up under scrutiny.As of mid-December 2025, there are now 24,113 verified bitcoin-accepting merchants pic.twitter.com/xpL00iY8cp Alex Stanczyk /21m (@alexstanczyk) December 17, 2025 In parallel, professional users are increasingly integrating crypto tools into existing operations. Beyond fintech, trading firms, digital asset managers, and online brokerages are leading adopters of DeFi tools in 2026, Cai said. What has changed is readiness. Infrastructure has improved, platforms are more stable, and tools now support consistent, high-volume activity. As a result, adoption is no longer framed as experimentation but as a practical business decision. Yet even as adoption broadens, one challenge continues to shape how far crypto can realistically expand. Platforms that Make Crypto Easy to Use Across both interviews, one common conclusion stands out: the main barrier to broader adoption is no longer technical capability, regulation, or liquidity. Absolutely user experience, said Seth when asked what would most unlock cryptos growth in 2026. For too long, crypto tools have been built by nerds and for nerds. Cai echoed that view from the trading side. The infrastructure works, liquidity exists, and demand is provenbut advanced trading tools still feel intimidating to many users, she said. As crypto enters its next phase, success will increasingly depend on clarity and simplicity. Platforms that make powerful tools feel intuitive and safe are likely to capture sustained usage. In 2026, the crypto narratives that matter most may be the ones users barely noticebecause they simply work. Read the article at BeInCrypto

Chinese-language networks operating on Telegram have become the backbone of the worlds largest illicit crypto economy. These groups have surpassed the dark web in fusing scams, AI-driven deception, and money laundering into a single, industrial system. Telegram Markets Now Dwarf Historical Dark Web Giants The scale is unprecedented. Elliptic data shows Huione Guarantee, later rebranded as Haowang Guarantee, processed $27 billion between 2021 and 2025. That figure exceeds every major dark web market in history. Over recent years, we've supplied @okx with crypto threat intelligence via multiple channels, and their compliance progress is notable. Data shows a significant decrease in risky USDT deposits from HuioneTudou Guarantee. We will continue monitoring this. @star_okx pic.twitter.com/f7zHpzra8j Bitrace (@Bitrace_team) October 15, 2025 After Telegram banned Huione in May, activity migrated. Two markets now dominate: Tudou Guarantee: roughly $1.1 billion per month Xinbi Guarantee: roughly $850 million per month Combined monthly volume now surpasses what AlphaBay processed over its entire lifetime. Why Telegram Replaced the Dark Web Telegram offers public channels, escrow-like systems, and instant global reach. Users need no Tor browser or technical knowledge. Markets recreate classic darknet features: Vendor reputation systems Escrow and dispute resolution Stablecoin settlement Rapid rebranding after bans In practice, Telegram has become a dark web without friction. Be careful ⚠️⚠️⚠️a FAKE telegram channel is trying to scam Smardex holders There is NO V3 migration, DO NOT FALL FOR SUCH SCAMthe official updates can ONLY be received through their website https://t.co/Ghz45GSSnI, their X: @SmarDex and their official TG (its link is in pic.twitter.com/cESr07yx4e Crypto Feras  (@CryptoFeras) November 5, 2025 Crypto Scam Markets Feed a Global Fraud Industry These markets do not sell drugs or weapons at scale, but they sell scam infrastructure. The primary customer base is the pig-butchering scam industry. These long-term romance and investment scams generate roughly $10 billion annually from US victims alone, according to federal data. Operations are concentrated in Southeast Asia. Many rely on trafficked labor held in scam compounds. Telegram markets provide: Money-laundering services Fake investment platforms Stolen identities Telecom and social-engineering tools The scam economy and the markets grow together. AI Face-Swap Tools Supercharge Fraud A key accelerant is artificial intelligence. Chinese-language Telegram groups actively sell: Real-time face-swap software Voice-cloning tools Deepfake identity kits These tools allow scammers to impersonate real people on video calls. They dramatically increase trust and conversion rates. Threat analysts describe this as the industrialization of social engineering. Scams now operate with assembly-line efficiency. Look at this, what appears to be a SCAM site that is fully AI generated.What is the government doing to stop these? Nothing at all? All that talent going toward scamming new crypto users on Twitter, Telegram, etc. www_youtube_com/@cryptotopstories SCAM!!! pic.twitter.com/HG1w0Lkx3e Jae Kwon "godfather of proof-of-stake" (@jaekwon) November 22, 2025 USDT Is the Financial Backbone Nearly all transactions settle in Tether (USDT). Unlike decentralized cryptocurrencies, USDT can be frozen. That capability exists but is rarely used at scale. As a result, the most centralized stablecoin underpins the largest illicit crypto markets ever recorded. This dependency concentrates risk across scams, money laundering, and cross-border fraud. Telegram has removed major markets before. Each time, replacements emerged within weeks. Ownership stakes shift between markets. Liquidity follows instantly. Elliptic tracks roughly 30 Chinese-language Telegram markets today. Together, they move tens of billions of dollars annually, mostly through crypto. Enforcement pressure remains fragmented and inconsistent. Overall, this is no longer a niche cybercrime story. Public messaging platforms now host global illicit finance at scale. Language-based networks matter more than geography; tools are reshaping fraud economics. The result is a criminal ecosystem larger than anything the dark web ever produced. And it operates in plain sight. Without a coordinated platform, stablecoin, and law-enforcement action, this system will keep growing. Read the article at BeInCrypto

For many traders, performance is not only driven by market direction, but by execution costs and capital efficiency. In traditional CFD trading, fees and spreads often erode a significant portion of returns, especially for active strategies such as scalping or short-term macro trades. Under comparable position sizes, trading fees on traditional platforms can be materially higher than those observed in crypto-native environments. Bitget TradFi addresses this inefficiency by offering access to forex and commodities with lower per-lot fees, while allowing traders to use USDT as margin. This structure reduces idle capital, simplifies fund management, and improves cost control across multiple markets. As trading strategies become more execution-sensitive, platforms that minimize friction and preserve capital efficiency are likely to gain increasing relevance in professional trading workflows. $BGB

Market correlations between crypto, equities, and macro assets like gold have remained elevated over the past year, highlighting a growing convergence between digital and traditional finance. As this convergence accelerates, traders are prioritizing execution quality, capital efficiency, and access to multiple markets within a single infrastructure rather than focusing solely on asset class distinctions. Bitget TradFi reflects this shift by integrating traditional markets such as forex and commodities alongside crypto trading, using USDT as margin within an MT5-based framework. As market structures continue to evolve, streamlined multi-asset access is becoming a key component of modern trading environments $BGB

The cryptocurrency projects that generated the highest revenue in the last 30 days have been announced. According to the data, stablecoin issuers, layer-1 blockchains, and derivatives trading platforms showed a significant advantage in terms of revenue. While some projects saw a decrease in revenue, a limited number of protocols stood out with strong increases. Here are the cryptocurrency protocols that generated the most revenue in the last 30 days, and the change in their revenue compared to the previous month: Tether (USDT) – $435.4 million (-1.5%) Circle (USDC) – $208.6 million (-2.2%) Tron (TRX) – $203.6 million (-4.0%) Hyperliquid (HYPE) – $61.1 million (-33.9%) Sky (SKY) – $25.3 million (+86.0%) pump.fun (PUMP) – $22.6 million (-13.5%) PancakeSwap (CAKE) – $20.8 million (-34.3%) Ethereum (ENA) – $20.0 million (-33.1%) Axiom Trade – $18.2 million (-11.7%) Phantom – $9.1 million (-20.3%) Aave (AAVE) – $8.7 million (-32.3%) Aethir (ATH) – $7.2 million (-13.3%) Aerodrome (AERO) – $6.8 million (-39.4%) Lido Finance (LDO) – $5.9 million (-14.6%) Chainlink (LINK) – $4.7 million (+6.4%) Related News What's the Latest on Bitcoin (BTC)? What Are the Big Whales Doing? Analysis Firm Takes a Deep Dive The data shows that stablecoin models based on interest-bearing reserves (Tether, Circle) maintain their lead in revenue generation. Layer-1 networks with high transaction volumes, such as Tron, are strongly positioned, while Hyperliquid and some DEXs are experiencing revenue declines. *This is not investment advice. Follow our Telegram and Twitter account now for exclusive news, analytics and on-chain data!