Coinbase Ventures has revealed an ambitious set of nine investment priorities aimed at steering the future of cryptocurrency innovation. This announcement comes at a pivotal moment when global venture capital funding for the crypto sector has surged, reaching its highest level since the collapse of FTX. The venture arm of Coinbase disclosed its strategic focus areas for 2026, coinciding with a remarkable increase in third-quarter funding, which rose to $4.65 billion—a staggering 290 percent increase from the previous quarter. This spike highlights a resurgence of institutional confidence in blockchain technology. Since its establishment in 2018, Coinbase Ventures has cultivated one of the most extensive investment portfolios in the industry, encompassing 422 companies across 618 investments. The firm indicates that as on-chain markets mature and the convergence of blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and privacy-enhancing technologies accelerates, a more focused strategic approach is essential.
### 1. Real-World Asset (RWA) Perpetuals
Leading its 2026 agenda are Real-World Asset perpetuals, which general partner Kinji Steimetz explained facilitate synthetic exposure to off-chain assets via perpetual futures contracts. Coinbase Ventures anticipates the emergence of new markets surrounding private company valuations, real-world data prints, and economic indicators—a trend Steimetz refers to as the “perpification of everything.”
### 2. Proprietary Automated Market Makers (AMMs)
The venture firm is also concentrating on innovative liquidity systems and proprietary Automated Market Makers (AMMs) that enhance the efficiency of on-chain trading, particularly as perpetual markets continue to grow.
### 3. Prediction Market Trading Terminals
Another significant area of investment will be in sophisticated prediction market infrastructure. The firm identifies a market opportunity for aggregators that can consolidate over $600 million in currently dispersed liquidity across platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi.
### 4. Perpetual Markets Composability
With perpetual decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes now surpassing $1.4 trillion monthly, Coinbase Ventures foresees that traders will increasingly earn yield on collateral while retaining leveraged positions, heralding a new phase in composable decentralized finance (DeFi) architecture.
### 5. Unsecured On-chain Lending
General partner Jonathan King describes unsecured lending as the next frontier for DeFi. With the United States holding approximately $1.3 trillion in revolving unsecured credit, the firm believes that on-chain credit systems that integrate reputation and real-world data could unlock significant growth potential.
### 6. On-chain Privacy Solutions
General partner Ethan Oak emphasized that mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency may hinge on financial privacy, leading to a heightened focus on zero-knowledge proofs, trusted execution environments, and privacy-enhanced DeFi protocols.
### 7. Robotics Data Collection
Coinbase Ventures is expanding its vision beyond finance, addressing a critical shortage of high-quality physical robotics data. Decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) could play a key role in scaling the collection of intricate interaction data, such as grip pressure and material handling.
### 8. Proof of Humanity
As AI-generated content becomes increasingly indistinguishable from human-created material, the firm is prioritizing digital identity and human verification systems. General partner Hoolie Tejwani underscored the necessity for robust solutions to ensure authenticity in the digital realm.
### 9. AI-Powered Development Tools
Coinbase Ventures views AI-assisted smart contract development tools as a pivotal moment for the sector, akin to the impact of GitHub Copilot. These innovations could empower non-technical founders to establish on-chain businesses within hours through automated code generation and security assessments. Emilie Choi, the president and COO, encouraged founders working in these nine domains to connect with the firm, while Shan Aggarwal, the chief business officer, highlighted that the next wave of capital market advancements will be constructed on-chain.
