Total blockchain industry revenue could reach around $100 billion in 2026, down 28% from the previous year. Meanwhile, the share of revenue generated by institutional investors and blockchain adoption in the traditional economy is expected to rise to 30%.
According to a study by investment firm 1kx, total blockchain industry revenue reached $138 billion in 2025, approaching the record $145 billion recorded in 2021. However, falling cryptocurrency prices and declining trading activity led to lower revenue in 2026.
Researchers estimate that most of the industry’s revenue in 2026 will come from 3 segments:
$65 billion (66%): Decentralized finance (DeFi), centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, and other financial services;
$22 billion (22%): Blockchain infrastructure, including transaction fees, mining, and staking;
$12 billion (12%): Other segments, including consumer applications, cryptocurrency wallets, and decentralized infrastructure networks.
For the study, 1kx analysts examined data from more than 2,600 blockchain protocols, financial results from 104 publicly traded companies, and additional industry data through Q3 2026.
In the first half of 2026, financial sector revenue fell 16% year over year, from $38.7 billion to $32.6 billion. Revenue from on-chain transaction fees declined 31%, while off-chain transaction fee revenue dropped 18%. Centralized cryptocurrency exchange revenue decreased 25%.
Infrastructure revenue fell 39% over the same period. Blockchain network fee revenue was cut in half, even as transaction counts increased 18%. Monthly active users exceeded 200 million, up more than 24 million from the previous year.
Analysts identified the growing role of traditional financial institutions and businesses adopting blockchain solutions as one of the industry’s major shifts. In 2021, these segments accounted for about 7% of industry revenue. By the end of 2026, their combined share could reach 30%, with 12% coming from institutional clients and digital asset holders and another 18% from blockchain adoption in the traditional economy.
Institutional revenue totaled $6.1 billion in the first half of 2026, compared with $6.8 billion a year earlier. Meanwhile, revenue associated with blockchain adoption in the traditional economy rose 58%, from $5.1 billion to $8 billion. The main growth drivers included:
Prediction Markets. Fee revenue in this segment reached $1.66 billion in Q3 2026, compared with $86 million in the same period of 2025, an increase of about 19 times. Most activity was concentrated on Kalshi and Polymarket. According to 1kx forecasts, total fees in this segment will exceed $4 billion for the year.
Tokenized Assets. Trading volume in derivatives linked to tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), including stocks, commodities, and stock indexes, reached $2.23 trillion in Q3 2026, compared with $18 billion a year earlier. The figure increased about 122 times, while these instruments accounted for 18% of total perpetual futures trading volume.
Cryptocurrency Payments. Spending through cryptocurrency cards reached $3.38 billion in Q3 2026, up from $1.12 billion a year earlier, representing a roughly threefold increase. Meanwhile, revenue from card transaction processing more than doubled.
Researchers also recorded an increase in publicly traded companies’ share of total blockchain industry revenue. The figure rose from 7% in 2022 to 16% in 2026. According to 1kx forecasts, these companies will generate about $16 billion in revenue for the full year, compared with $18.3 billion in 2025.
Despite the overall decline in industry revenue, certain categories of digital assets recorded gains. From the beginning of 2026 through September 30, index tracking tokens issued by protocols that distribute a portion of their revenue to holders rose 82%, while Bitcoin lost about 10% over the same period. In Q3, the number of protocols offering such distributions reached a record 283.
According to 1kx analysts, blockchain industry revenue will begin recovering in 2027, supported by greater institutional participation, the development of tokenization, and the growing number of practical applications. Additional growth drivers could include the use of on-chain data for financial analysis, the integration of artificial intelligence technologies, and increasing convergence between digital assets and traditional securities.
1kx expects the industry’s future development to become progressively less dependent on speculative cryptocurrency trading. Institutional financial services, payment infrastructure, and practical blockchain applications in the traditional economy will play a more significant role.
