2026 is framed as the year when mainstream DLT use cases take center stage, with regulatory clarity, interoperability, tokenisation, digital money, AI integration, and data privacy shaping corporate priorities in Q1.

Collaborations between traditional finance and digital-native players are intensifying, foreshadowing more TradFi/DeFi partnerships, cross-pollination, and emerging M&A activity.

Tokenisation is positioned as the low-hanging fruit with strong adoption potential in collateral, funds, and fixed income, supported by major market research forecasting growth into the 2030s.

The multi-moneyverse concept envisions coexisting digital money forms, advancing stablecoins and CBDC developments, with emphasis on on-/off-ramps and cross-border settlement in 2026.

Regulation remains the principal adoption barrier, with ongoing and upcoming acts and standards across major regions, pushing for technology-neutral, interoperable frameworks.

Digital securities and tokenisation are central, with cost savings from tokenisation, rapid collateral tokenisation growth, and pilots for on-chain sovereign debt and multi-moneyverse concepts.

Digital plumbing and interoperability are core 2026 priorities, calling for common standards, avoiding ecosystem fragmentation, and aligning traditional rails with new DLT infrastructure.

Payments and digital money adoption are accelerating, highlighted by players like Visa, Mastercard, Revolut, and Kraken offering stablecoins and SCaaS, with regulatory alignment (MiCA, PSD2/PSR) enabling crypto-traditional finance convergence.

Digital assets reached critical mass in 2025, with DLT moving from experimentation to wide-scale deployment and shaping regulatory and market developments for 2026.

AI is set to synergize with DLT in 2026, scaling from pilots to full workflows in payments, fraud detection, AML/KYC/CTF, and informing international regulation harmonization.

Data privacy and protection remain challenges for DLT due to immutability and data minimisation needs, with EU and UK regulators issuing guidance and ongoing efforts to reconcile privacy with distributed ledger tech in 2026.