A major technology company is expected to launch or acquire a crypto wallet in 2026, potentially bringing billions of new users into the digital asset space. At the same time, fintech firms attempting to build their own layer-1 (L1) blockchains are likely to fail in challenging established networks like Ethereum and Solana, according to Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi.
In a recent post on X, Qureshi shared a series of predictions outlining how Big Tech, Fortune 100 companies, and crypto markets could evolve over the next two years. His outlook highlights growing corporate adoption of blockchain infrastructure, alongside skepticism toward corporate-built public blockchains competing with crypto-native ecosystems.
Big Tech and Fortune 100 Companies Embrace Crypto Infrastructure
Qureshi believes that much of the upcoming crypto adoption among Fortune 100 firms will come from banks and fintech companies. Rather than launching fully public blockchains, these institutions are expected to rely on existing crypto frameworks such as Avalanche subnets, OP Stack, Arbitrum Orbit, and ZK Stack. These tools allow companies to build more private or permissioned networks while still maintaining connections to public blockchains.
Several major financial institutions, including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and IBM, have already experimented with private blockchain systems. However, most of these initiatives remain in testing phases or are being used only for limited applications.
Echoing this trend, Galaxy Digital recently predicted that at least one Fortune 500 bank, cloud provider, or eCommerce platform would launch a layer-1 blockchain by 2026 that settles more than $1 billion in real economic activity. Galaxy also expects these corporate chains to offer bridges into decentralized finance, expanding institutional access to on-chain markets.
Qureshi also forecasts that a Big Tech company—such as Google, Meta, or Apple—will introduce or acquire a crypto wallet in 2026. Such a move could dramatically accelerate mainstream crypto adoption by embedding wallets into platforms already used by billions of people worldwide.
Why Fintech Layer-1 Blockchains May Fail
Despite optimism around corporate adoption, Qureshi is bearish on fintech companies launching standalone L1 blockchains designed to compete with Ethereum and Solana. He argues that these networks will struggle to attract users and meaningful on-chain activity.
According to Qureshi, metrics such as daily active addresses, stablecoin transaction volumes, and real-world asset (RWA) issuance on fintech-focused chains like Tempo, Arc, and Robinhood Chain are likely to disappoint. In contrast, Ethereum and Solana are expected to continue outperforming in terms of network activity and developer engagement.
On the market side, Qureshi predicts Bitcoin will trade above $150,000 by the end of 2026, although he expects Bitcoin dominance to decline as other crypto sectors grow. Galaxy Digital declined to make a firm price prediction, citing extreme uncertainty, and suggested Bitcoin could end 2026 anywhere between $50,000 and $250,000.
Qureshi also expects the stablecoin market, currently valued at around $312 billion, to grow by roughly 60% in 2026. While Tether (USDT) is likely to remain the market leader, its dominance could slip from about 60% to 55% as competitors gain traction.
Looking ahead, prediction markets are expected to continue expanding, but Qureshi remains skeptical about artificial intelligence playing a major economic role in crypto. He believes AI will primarily be used for security purposes, rather than autonomous agents transacting or “paying each other” on-chain. He also predicts that social platforms will still struggle to effectively combat spambot activity in the coming years.
Overall, Qureshi’s outlook suggests that while crypto adoption by major corporations is accelerating, the biggest winners will remain existing public blockchains—rather than new fintech-built L1s trying to reinvent the wheel.
