Lorenzo Valente, Ark Invest's Director of Cryptocurrency Research, summarized his impressions of the Consensus 2026 event held in Miami, USA, via X. He stated, "The event saw the 'degens' (high-risk investors) exit, with institutions becoming mainstream, and JP Morgan occupying the space where Uniswap's booth once stood. It wasn't a bull market atmosphere; institutional influence was strong, and cautious optimism prevailed. He assessed it as a 'turning point where cryptocurrency transitioned from a financial movement to an industry.'" Below are the points summarized by Coinness.
-CLARITY Act's passage before summer is virtually a done deal
-Institutions fully entering tokenization, the debate over blockchain utility has ended, moving to a stage of competition for dominance
-Uniform investment themes: focus on stablecoins, tokenization, internet banks, and permissioned DeFi
-Coinbase, Kraken, Robinhood, Bullish emerging as competitors, not partners, from the perspective of traditional finance
-Acceleration of traditional finance M&A: Kraken acquiring Reap for $600 million, Visa, Mastercard, etc., also entering despite premiums
-The largest deal at the event was Bullish's acquisition of Equinity for $4.2 billion, securing a full-stack RWA structure from issuance to settlement
-VC polarization: large funds (a16z $2.2 billion, Hawn Ventures $1 billion) vs. small funds (transitioning to AI or closing down)
-Rising industry entry barriers, competitors are those with over $200 million in annual revenue like Tether, Anchorage, and Securitize
-L1 competition debate virtually over, institutional interests are settlement finality, compliance, and liquidity
-Most projects with intertwined interests between tokens and equity are expected to be eliminated
-Most Digital Asset Trust (DAT) companies have inadequate operations and governance, but the perpetual investment structure itself remains valid
-AI agent finance has big claims but lacks substance
-No mention of retail investor return at the event, institutions are expected to drive the next cycle
