Grayscale: The 2026 Crypto Market Focuses on US Regulatory Legislation and Quantum Computing Threats

GrayScale's report states that the cryptocurrency market will enter an adjustment phase in the fourth quarter of 2025, with all six major crypto sectors showing negative returns. Privacy-related assets performed better than other sectors, especially Zcash (ZEC). As the integration of blockchain and traditional finance deepens, the demand for privacy tools becomes increasingly evident. The usage rate of Zcash's "shielded accounts" continues to grow, indicating a rising market demand for privacy features.

Other notable privacy assets include Monero (XMR), Decred (DCR), Dash (DASH), Basic Attention Token (BAT), and Beldex (BDX). Among them, Dash's daily trading volume doubled in Q4, BAT's Brave browser reached over 100 million monthly active users, and Beldex integrated LayerZero to achieve cross-chain interoperability. Looking ahead to 2026, the market is focused on two major themes: first, the U.S. Congress's legislation on the structure of the cryptocurrency market, which is expected to become law and provide traditional financial rules for the crypto capital market; second, the potential threat of quantum computing to blockchain encryption methods. Although quantum computing technology is still in its early stages, it may prompt the market to assess the ability of blockchain to respond to quantum challenges.