⚡ What would you do if you knew in advance where the next batch of billion dollar projects would happen? I suggest that those who currently have no direction can take a look at Coinbase Ventures' latest '2026 Investment Outlook', which has a very clear viewpoint: 2026 is the year when on chain finance, on chain infrastructure, and AI intersect. The next batch of breakthrough projects is likely to come from the following four directions—— one ⃣ RWA Perpetual Contract: Moving from tokenization to the perpetuity of all things Coinbase believes that the next phase of RWA will not stay at tokenization, but will shift towards providing synthetic exposure through perpetual contracts. Sustainable products do not require holding of underlying assets, have fast launch speed, and are suitable for a wider range of asset classes, including: Private company equity Commodities and economic data Macro indicators such as credit spreads, inflation expectations, volatility, etc RWA perpetual will become a key hub connecting off chain assets and on chain liquidity. two ⃣ Specialized trading terminal: upgrading the on chain market structure With the maturity of perpetual contracts DEX and app chain, Coinbase is more focused on the evolution of "market structure" rather than simple trading UI. The key directions include: Prop AMM: Protecting Market Makers and Isolating Predatory Order Flow Specialized trading terminal: Unify liquidity and odds across different platforms, providing advanced trading tools Cross platform intelligent routing and warehouse management The goal is to elevate the on chain trading experience to an institutional level. three ⃣ The next generation of DeFi: from single point protocols to composable systems Coinbase believes that the focus of DeFi is undergoing structural changes, with core trends including: 1) Perpetual x loan combinable Traders can obtain collateral returns while maintaining leverage, improving capital efficiency. Hyperliquid and Lighter have been the first to implement such integration. 2) Unsecured loans and on chain credit 2026 is expected to see a new credit model that combines on chain reputation and off chain data. This is the next large-scale infrastructure for DeFi. 3) Privacy becomes standard ZKP/FHE/MPC and other technologies will promote the implementation of private order books, private payments, and private lending. four ⃣ AI and Robotics Technology: The Transformation of Data, Identity, and Development Methods Three major directions proposed by Coinbase—— Robot x DePIN: Utilizing on chain incentives to collect physical interaction data and serve embodied AI training Proof of Humanness: Addressing the challenges of identity verification brought about by the proliferation of AI content AI Agent Development Tool: Smart Contract Development Will Embrace the 'Copilot Moment', From Automatic Generation to Automatic Audit Full Package These types of tools may directly change the threshold and speed of on chain development in 2026. The original text is here: https://www. (coinbase.com)/zh-cn/blog/Coinbase-Ventures-Ideas-we-are-excited-for-in-2026