Our 2026 Predictions: A Year for Building
Description
In our first episode of 2026, the full Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll (BFRR) team—Michael, Jonas, Manu and a returning Alex—sets the year’s agenda and locks in bold, measurable predictions for what’s next in digital money, digital assets and institutional blockchain.
We start with the “internal outlook”: how BFRR will level up in 2026, supported by our partners Zühlke (and guest host Stefan) and Etonec, adding a stronger European + US lens (including future guest host Jonathan Knoll). The theme is “more doing, less talking.” On the slate: stablecoin adoption and payments, digital-euro policy guardrails as EU regulation enters a decisive phase, tokenized deposits and multi-bank platforms (Partior, Agorá, Swift Ledger), the evolving DLT Pilot Regime, ECB projects Pontes & Appia, tokenization of funds and crypto funds, Bitcoin vs quantum risk, Ethereum valuation (and gas economics), and the IT-architecture questions CTOs face when TradFi meets decentralized rails.
Then we go “external”: eight predictions you can score—and a lively debate on whether stablecoin volume is truly “payments” or still mostly crypto settlement.
• Stablecoins overtake Automated Clearing House (ACH) in transaction volume
• Payments share of stablecoin volume barely rises (<5pp)
• At least one country bans stablecoins over monetary-sovereignty fears
• EU leaders publicly reframe stablecoins as a sovereignty tool (and debate whether the ECB will follow)
• Digital-euro legislation won’t be finalized in 2026
• No new L1/L2 breaks into the top-10 chains
• US spot crypto ETF net inflows exceed $50B
• Bitcoin mining gets recognized as a grid-stabilization tool (3+ countries)
Finally: Bitcoin price bets for end-2026—Manu $160k, Alex $150k, Michael $145k (with $65k low / $180k high), Jonas $180k—and a closing thesis: 2026 might be a “boring” year where builders win.
Shownotes
Galaxy Digital Outlook on 2026
Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock'n'Roll Website
Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock'n'Roll Telegram Channel
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