Casterman founder: 2026 is a critical turning point for the crypto market, and the industry will shift towards the construction of new financial infrastructure

Casterman Advisory founder André Casterman posted on the X platform that 2026 will be a critical turning point for the crypto market, with the industry's focus shifting from "whether we need crypto" to building new financial infrastructure. Tokenization and digital assets will transition from pilot phases to regulated production-level deployments.

In terms of transaction banking, central banks and institutions worldwide have adopted a unified "wholesale-first" strategy for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), tokenized deposits, and regulated stablecoins (such as USDC and RLUSD). The upcoming crypto market structure legislation will support institutional applications, and once regulations are clear, banks will invest heavily in areas such as crypto trading. Digital currency forms will coexist and achieve interoperability, with blockchain becoming a parallel financial rail, while banks continue to act as intermediaries, shifting the industry's focus towards building infrastructure under clear regulation.