Investing Trends for 2026: DeFi, Tokenization, Capital Formation, Speculation & AI | Ben Lakoff & Arnav from Bankless Ventures
Ben Lakoff and Arnav Pagidyala from Bankless Ventures lay out how they’re thinking about crypto investing heading into 2026.
The conversation spans four persistent pillars of every cycle: DeFi, tokenization, capital formation, and speculation and how each is evolving as crypto matures.
Topics include the next wave of on-chain lending, equity perps, DeFi neobanks, verticalized tokenization platforms, compliant ICOs, prediction and opinion markets, and where AI agents may reshape crypto-native finance.
A candid look at what’s investable now, what’s changing, and how Bankless Ventures is underwriting the next cycle.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
11:59 DeFi
36:20 Tokenization
50:25 Capital Formation
1:00:44 Speculation Markets
1:09:58 AI
1:13:26 Founders & Teams
1:15:31 Closing & Disclaimers
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RESOURCES
Ben Lakoff
https://x.com/benlakoff
Arnav
https://x.com/0xArnav
Bankless Ventures
https://x.com/banklessvc
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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures
Bringing DeFi to NFTs | Metaverso Panel
On December 7, 2021, Metaverso was held in Puerto Rico as a 1-day conference filled with leaders in crypto culture. We held a panel with Sam Cassat of Aligned Capital, Ben Lakoff of Charged Particles, Andy8052 of Fractional, and Laura Jaramillo of Upshot.
In this special edition, we dive into what the conference experience really is. Spoiler: Crypto IRL is amazing. The panel explores the intersection of DeFi and NFTs—what happens when these worlds collide? There are only two types of assets—fungible and non-fungible—but we are seeing these concepts blur together in new and interesting ways.
From liquidity to communities, this conversation covers how the Metaverse is bringing DeFi to NFTs.
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------ Topics Covered:
0:00 Intro 3:15 The Conference Experience 6:44 TradArt and NFTs 10:11 Metaverso 13:14 Crypto IRL 16:20 The Panel 19:40 FreeRoss DAO 21:38 The Panelists 24:28 The Potential of NFTs 29:00 More than Fractionalizing 33:45 Liquidity 39:33 Pricing Assets 46:50 Community 54:34 Regulatory Issues 1:00:22 Use Cases
----- Resources:
Metaverso https://www.metaver.so/ FreeRossDAO https://freerossdao.com/ Sam Cassatt https://twitter.com/samcassatt?s=20 Ben Lakoff https://twitter.com/benlakoff?s=20 Andy8052 https://twitter.com/andy8052?s=20 Laura Jaramillo https://twitter.com/LauraTJD?s=20
----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here: https://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/bankless-disclosures