[DigitalToday reporter Chi-gyu Hwang] Andreessen Horowitz's digital-asset unit a16z Crypto expects that in 2026, the key will be how existing technologies change markets, infrastructure and media rather than new blockchains, The Block reported on Thursday local time.

a16z first pointed to the evolution of prediction markets. By 2025, cumulative trading volume on major platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi reached about $28 billion, The Block reported. It said this suggests prediction markets are emerging as a major pillar of the information ecosystem.

Andy Hall, a Stanford University professor and an a16z adviser, said frequent conflicts in politics and geopolitics have pushed centralized outcome adjudication mechanisms to their limits. He stressed that outcome models using AI-powered oracles and decentralised governance are becoming necessary.

The second keyword is cryptographic proofs. Justin Thaler, a Georgetown University professor at a16z, analysed that advances in zero-knowledge proof-based virtual machines, or ZK-VMs, sharply reduce proof costs and could be applied to cloud computing and consumer devices. If it becomes possible to mathematically prove that a process was carried out correctly without rerunning computations, it is expected to affect the broader digital infrastructure beyond blockchains.

Staked media also drew attention. Robert Hackett of a16z's editorial team said that with AI driving a sharp drop in content production costs, trust can be maintained only if creators or commentators can stake capital or reputation behind their claims through tokenised assets or on-chain histories.