TLDR
- Coinbase Ventures is expanding into real-world-asset perpetuals to offer synthetic exposure to off-chain assets.
- The firm is focusing on specialized exchanges, such as Prop-AMMs on Solana, to protect liquidity providers.
- Coinbase Ventures is keeping an eye on the development of unified trading terminals for fragmented prediction markets.
- DeFi growth areas include composable perpetual markets and the potential of unsecured on-chain credit through reputation-based lending.
- Privacy technology is a key focus, with increasing demand for private order flow, lending, and payments that preserve user confidentiality.
Coinbase Ventures, the investment arm of Coinbase, has revealed its strategic outlook for 2026, focusing on emerging opportunities. In its latest blog post, Coinbase outlined plans to expand its reach into real-world-asset (RWA) perpetuals, specialized exchanges, next-gen DeFi solutions, and the intersection of crypto with AI and robotics. These areas are expected to drive the platform’s next phase of growth.
Expanding Real-World-Asset (RWA) Perpetuals
Coinbase Ventures is prioritising the expansion of RWA perpetuals and seeking to extend beyond traditional crypto assets. The firm highlighted that perpetual futures could offer synthetic exposure to off-chain assets, such as private companies or macroeconomic data, without requiring the underlying asset.
Kinji Steimetz, associate at Coinbase Ventures, explained that as crypto intertwines with macro markets, traders are seeking to express broader views. “This creates demand for macro asset exposure on-chain,” Steimetz said. Traders are increasingly interested in hedging or positioning with instruments tied to oil, inflation breakevens, credit spreads, and volatility.
Coinbase Ventures is also focused on specialized exchanges such as “Prop-AMMs” on Solana. These exchanges are designed to protect liquidity providers from toxic flow, offering a more secure trading environment. This approach aims to address current inefficiencies and cater to the growing needs of sophisticated traders.
The firm is closely monitoring the development of unified trading terminals for prediction markets. Jonathan King, Senior Manager of Investments at Coinbase Ventures, noted the current fragmentation in the prediction market sector. He stated that there is increasing demand for a more integrated trading platform to overcome these challenges.
Coinbase Ventures Invests in AI and Robotics for 2026
Coinbase also highlighted growth areas in decentralised finance (DeFi), particularly the rise of composable perpetual markets. These markets allow traders to earn yield on collateral while maintaining leveraged positions, creating new opportunities in DeFi. Furthermore, Coinbase highlighted the potential of unsecured on-chain credit, noting that reputation-based lending could capture a share of the U.S. $1.3 trillion unsecured credit market.
Privacy technology is another key area of interest, with growing demand for private order flow, lending, and payments. Coinbase Ventures emphasized that maintaining user confidentiality without sacrificing verifiability is becoming more crucial for the industry.
Coinbase Ventures also sees opportunities where crypto intersects with artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. 2026 could be pivotal for the development of innovative contracts. AI agents may enable non-technical founders to launch on-chain businesses with automated code generation and security monitoring.
This area offers immense innovation potential, particularly amid growing interest in automating complex processes. Coinbase Ventures’ investments are already aligned with this vision, having led rounds in companies like Bastion and Vana earlier this year.
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