Coinbase Unveils 9 Bold Crypto Bets It Plans To Fund in 2026
“Perpification of everything” is at the top of Coinbase Ventures’ list. This includes synthetic markets and perpetuals, which provide 24/7 on-chain access to stocks, private business valuations, commodities, and macro indicators.
The company says that perpetual futures linked to tokenized real-world assets could open up new types of trading and risk management that are currently not possible in standard markets.
is looking for teams that can design compliant RWA pipelines, strong oracle infrastructure, and margin systems that can handle a lot of volume from institutions.
The message to beginups is clear: if they can connect regulated asset flows with crypto-native derivatives, Coinbase is ready to give them money and assist them get their products out there.
Specialized platforms And Pro Trading Terminals
A new generation of specialized platforms and trading terminals made for professional users is another significant part of the 2026 thesis.
Coinbase Ventures talks about new types of primitives, like “,” prediction-market terminals, and purpose-built venues that work best for latency, order routing, or specific asset classes instead of a wide range of retail traffic.
The venture section thinks that these vertically focused platforms will have professional-level , custom risk algorithms, and connections to both centralized platforms and on-chain liquidity. For 2026 checks, it wants to find builders who can combine broken markets into one interface for funds, market makers, and active traders.
Next‑gen DeFi and Composable Credit
Coinbase Ventures also wants to get into “next-gen DeFi,” which means moving from separate lending and AMM silos to marketplaces that can be completely composed.
The team is viewking protocols that can open up credit that isn’t backed by enough collateral or cash flow, assist with private order flow, and firmly link spot, derivatives, and money markets onchain.
The company says that the best projects will be more like capital markets platforms than single-purpose apps, with shared collateral, cross-margining, and modular risk tools. Coinbase’s current portfolio of infrastructure, bridges, and L2S is viewn as a base for these more advanced financial primitives to grow.
AI, Robotics and Onchain Agents
Coinbase Ventures views as the coordination and payment layer for autonomous agents, which is one of the most forward-looking themes in the convergence of AI, robotics, and crypto.
The company is looking for firms that create identification, verification, and machine-to-machine commerce rails that enable AI agents and robots to conduct business, hire services, or manage resources directly on the blockchain.
Some recognized use cases include agent wallets with built-in policy controls, cryptographic proof of AI-generated outputs, and marketplaces where you can rent or operate physical robots or IoT devices via smart contracts.
Coinbase said that as AI systems progress from performing only digital activities to performing tasks in the real world, crypto infrastructure will be needed to handle trust, payments, and large-scale auditing.
Apps For Consumers and The Base Ecosystem
The main concepts for Coinbase Ventures in 2026 are mostly focused on institutions and infrastructure, but they also include consumer-facing products built on Base, the platform’s layer-2 network.
The company says that better wallets, onramp tools, and cheaper L2 transactions have made it possible for social, savings, and payment answers to be used by everyone.
Founders are being told to think of the ideas list as a “bat signal” and to bring products to the team that can connect these infrastructural themes to how people use them every day.
Coinbase Ventures’ new plan shows that in 2026, funding will go to beginups that can connect to Base, use Coinbase’s distribution, and ship swiftly in these nine areas of focus.
