The growing power of artificial intelligence and new quantum capabilities will reshape global security, regulation and market design by 2026, according to leading figures in the blockchain and AI fields.
Rather than a hyped adoption, experts Yellow.com spoke to pointed to a structural shift in which governments, businesses, and financial markets increasingly rely on blockchain-based infrastructure to withstand the next era of computing threats.
There is growing concern across the industry that AI systems and quantum tools will outpace traditional cyber defense models.
Blockchain becomes a national security priority
As enterprises accelerate adoption of AI-driven automation and predictive markets, business platforms, and data ecosystems become agent-native, the need for verifiable computations, tamper-proof data, and transparent system design becomes inevitable.
shiv shankarCEO of infinitesays the tipping point has already arrived, describing the situation as a “sword and shield” conflict, where AI and quantum computing act as offensive capabilities, while blockchain and zero-knowledge cryptography provide defensive guarantees.
“AI and quantum computing are the sword, blockchain and zero-knowledge cryptography are the shield.”
He argues that tamper-proof ledgers and verifiable calculations will become a national infrastructure because “any tampering can be detected instantly.”
This change coincides with a broader shift in the way businesses interact with AI tools.
AI reshapes enterprise workflows and regulatory requirements
Rather than relying solely on generic chat interfaces, companies are expected to move toward orchestrator systems, which are AI agents that can set tasks, execute workflows, and take continuous actions across internal and external environments.
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Titus CapilnianVice President of Go-to-Market civicnotes that increasing complexity around automation, personalization, and compliance will force companies to deploy explainable AI systems, verifiable models, and identity-based agent interactions.
He said the next stage of AI deployment will require “memory, personalization, and orchestrators,” along with privacy tools like passkeys and zero-knowledge proofs.
Prediction markets enter fully agent-driven stage
Market design is entering a new era.
Predictive platforms that once relied on human mobility are beginning to integrate fully autonomous agent economies.
david minash of Oras The key to unlocking it, he says, is not just better predictive models, but the ability for agents to execute the entire predictive market lifecycle: creating markets, sourcing information, trading, and resolving outcomes.
This agent-native structure, he argues, allows prediction markets to address any question where incentives matter.
At the same time, he warns that recent governance failures in crypto prediction markets show that volume alone does not guarantee reliability, so trust must be “built into the mechanism.”
Meanwhile, user attention is focused on breakout platforms.
YufuCEO of Phantom Thief AIstates that an important pattern has emerged in 2025. Even during market downturns, sectors such as perpetual DEXs and prediction markets experienced explosive growth.
he points out that Polymarket A leading example for 2026, supported by on-chain rails and mainstream user engagement.
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