What it means for capital markets to operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in 2026

The boundaries between technology and finance are rapidly shrinking. 2026 marks a significant turning point in the integration of crypto assets with traditional financial markets. At the heart of this is the fundamental changes in the capital market structure brought about by tokenized assets and blockchain technology.

The market, which was once separated by weekends and business hours, is now evolving into a continuous market that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This shift means not just an increase in trading hours but an innovation in capital liquidity, efficiency, and allocation strategies themselves.

Fundamental Transformation of Capital Markets Brought About by Tokenization

Capital markets are still built on assumptions from more than 100 years ago. Settlement takes several days, collateral is processed in separate batches, and the market is completely shut down on weekends and after hours. However, this old framework is rapidly collapsing.

With the acceleration of tokenization technology, the tokenized asset market is projected to reach $18.9 trillion by 2033. This represents a staggering compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 53%, drawing the same S-curve as the widespread use of mobile phones and air travel. Industry leaders also believe that if the first domino falls, the possibility of 80% of global assets being tokenized by 2040 is also realistic.

The implications of this shift for capital markets are immeasurable. Once collateral becomes fungible and settlements are completed in seconds instead of days, institutional investors will be able to continuously reallocate their portfolios. Stocks, bonds, and digital assets become interchangeable components of a single, always-on capital allocation strategy.

Dramatically improving capital efficiency through shorter settlement cycles

Currently, institutional investors need to pre-allocate capital 5~7 days before trading. This amount of time is essential for onboarding and collateral placement in new asset classes. Capital tied to T+2 and T+1 settlement cycles is putting a strain on the entire system.

Tokenization completely eliminates these delays. If the settlement is completed in a few seconds, the effectiveness of the capital available to institutional investors will be dramatically improved. Huge amounts of capital that were once “frozen” due to settlement risks and upfront funding requirements will be released.

As a result, there is a secondary effect on liquidity. Stablecoins and tokenized money market funds will serve as nodes between asset classes, enabling immediate capital transfers between previously fragmented markets. The deepening of the order book, the increase in transaction volume, and the reduction of settlement risk will rapidly accelerate the turnover rate of both digital and fiat currencies.

Innovative Transformation of Investment Structures Required of Institutional Investors

Responding to a market that operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year is not just a system update. For institutional investors, this means a fundamental transformation of the entire investment structure.

Risk management, finance, and settlement operations teams must move from discrete batch processing cycles to continuous processes. This means 24-hour collateral management, real-time AML/KYC, digital custody integration, and the acceptance of stablecoins as a functional and liquid payment method.

Only institutions that can continuously manage liquidity and risk will gain a level of market flow that competitors cannot structurally handle. 2026 is a year in which institutional investors urgently need to develop an investment system.

Rapid Regulatory Environment and Market Infrastructure Creation

The infrastructure is already being formed. Regulated custodians and credit intermediary solutions are moving from proof-of-concept to full-scale operation.

In the United States, Interactive Brokers (IBKR) has launched a feature that allows customers to instantly deposit funds into their brokerage accounts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year using USDC (and soon Ripple’s RLUSD and PayPal’s PYUSD). This is a significant example of how stablecoins are perceived as substantial payment infrastructure, not just speculative products.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval for the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) to develop a securities tokenization program that records ownership of stocks, ETFs, and Treasury bonds on the blockchain suggests that the regulator is seriously considering this fusion. While further regulatory clarity is essential ahead of the full rollout, institutions initiating operational capacity building in continuous markets will be well-positioned to respond quickly when the framework is established.

The Crypto Market: The Evolution from Freshman to Sophomore

2025 was a “freshman’s year” for crypto. The anticipation after the election, the all-time high Bitcoin at the presidential inauguration, and the wave of volatility that followed—all of these were experiences like in the first year of college.

In the process, the market learned an early lesson. The tariff panic pushed Bitcoin below $80,000, while Ethereum fell to around $1,500. The Q4 deleveraging event reminded market participants how complex the road ahead is.

2026 should be a “second year year” based on the experience of that early stage. Now that you’ve mastered the foundational knowledge and become familiar with the environment, it’s time to focus on building, growing, and specializing.

In order for the crypto industry to avoid a “second-year slump”, it needs to correctly address some key challenges. First, it is the area of legislation and regulation. The CLARITY bill faces a tight timeline due to conflicts over stablecoin rewards. In order to move forward with important legislation, it is necessary to put aside the details and find a compromise.

The second is the construction of a distribution channel for crypto assets. The most fundamental challenge of crypto assets lies in establishing meaningful distribution channels beyond proprietary traders. Institutional adoption will not translate into real success until it reaches retail, mass-affluent, high-net-worth and institutional investors with allocation incentives on par with other asset classes. Financial instruments must be sold to be used.

Third, it is a focus on quality. As shown by the relative performance of the CoinDesk 20 stocks in 2025 and the mid-cap CoinDesk 80 stocks, larger, higher-quality digital assets will continue to dominate. The top 20 stocks — the core of currencies, smart contract platforms, DeFi protocols, and infrastructure — have enough breadth to offer diversification and emerging themes while reducing cognitive load.

A New Face in the Market: The Correlation Shift between Bitcoin and Gold

In early 2026, a significant shift occurred in the correlation structure between Bitcoin and gold. While gold hit a new all-time high, Bitcoin’s 30-day rolling correlation turned to a positive 0.40 for the first time this year.

Despite this change, Bitcoin remains technically heavy, with a weekly decline of 1% and failure to recover its 50-week Exponential Moving Average (EMA). The key to watch now is whether the sustained gold uptrend will support Bitcoin in the medium term, or whether BTC’s sustained price weakness will confirm a decoupling from traditional safe-haven assets.

Global Trends: Rapid Changes in the Regulatory Environment

Overseas, the regulatory environment for crypto assets is changing rapidly. South Korea has lifted the nine-year ban on crypto investment by companies and shifted to a policy that effectively allows institutional investors to enter. This is a signal that major financial markets have begun to officially recognize crypto assets as an asset class.

Meanwhile, there are regulatory concerns in the UK, with senior Labor MPs pushing for a ban on crypto asset donations to political organizations. In the United States, there is still a conflict between the industry and regulators, with companies such as Coinbase expressing opposition to certain bills.

Overall, however, Ethereum’s network adoption has increased, with new users entering the crypto market at an all-time high. This means that despite regulatory uncertainty, the trend of grassroots adoption is definitely rising.

Diversifying the Crypto Ecosystem: The Evolution of NFT and IP Strategies

The crypto ecosystem has expanded from a mere realm of financial assets to a multi-vertical strategy for consumers. Pudgy Penguins is a great example of how it is evolving from a speculative “digital luxury” to a de facto consumer IP platform.

The project’s strategy is to first acquire users through mainstream channels (toys, retail partnerships, viral media), and then onboard them to Web3 through games, NFTs, and PENGU tokens. The ecosystem has now expanded to include physical and digital convergence products (over $13 million in retail sales and over 1 million units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500,000 downloads in just two weeks), and widely distributed tokens (airdropped to over 6 million wallets).

The market now values Pudgy at a high premium compared to its traditional IP peers. However, sustained success relies on retail deployment, game adoption, and the execution of deeper token utility.

2026: The Future Signifies a Fundamental Shift in Capital Markets

What 2026 means is not just a matter of numbers or time. It means that this is the year when the entire capital market will move to a new paradigm.

The new normal of 24/365 markets will change the very nature of liquidity, efficiency, and risk management. Institutions that adapt will gain an advantage in the new capital allocation environment, while institutions that cannot adapt will lose their structural competitiveness.

The regulatory framework is not yet fully established, but the basic infrastructure has already been established. Institutions that begin to develop their operational systems at this moment will have a decisive advantage when facing the full-scale development of the integrated capital market.

The crypto asset market is also steadily moving from the speculative stage to the institutionalization stage. 2026 is expected to accelerate the transition substantially, and for the entire global financial system, it may be the beginning of an era in which capital markets are truly operating 24/365.