Web3 basics will return in 2026
Crypto enters 2026 with a familiar dichotomy: the industry is maturing, but its decentralized identity is at risk. Still, after years dominated by speculation, 2025 will push developers and investors back to the basics and blockchain will be able to power real-world goods, services and infrastructure.
In this week's episode of Byte-Sized Insights, Cointelegraph explores what that change looks like on the ground, specifically through the lens of the burgeoning “machine economy.”
DePIN brings crypto closer to the “real world”.
Leonard Dorlochter, co-founder of Peak, argues that 2025 has revolutionized how projects are evaluated.
“Fundamentals started to matter from time to time,” he said.
After an earlier memecoin-driven speculation that he “looked front and center to the protocol revenue”. The push to basics is driven in part by DePIN, decentralized physical infrastructure projects that aim to build measurable revenue-generating services.
“We're seeing early monetization, real monetization happening in DPin,” Dorlochter added, adding that some networks “build a decentralized network of IoT devices … and you can convert those back into tokens.”
Related: Web3 and DApps in 2026: A consumer-driven year for the future of crypto
For builders, the implications are clear: revenue matters, but so does the type of value being created, especially as the industry pushes toward wider adoption.
Machine economy and on-chain coordination
Dorlochter defines the machine economy as “any device, robot, or agent that autonomously interacts with each other or with humans.” He said the past year has brought meaningful progress in standardization, including the release of protocols to help agents access services and interact between systems.
“A lot of the foundation work has been done in the last year in terms of the standard,” he said, “and now it's really going into production.” And for Dorlochter, the bounty goes beyond convenience.
“Blockchain technology is the technology that allows us to build an independent infrastructure as a global community.”
Still, he stressed that decentralization should remain the foundation as regulation and mainstream adoption accelerate.
Looking ahead, expect an increase in autonomous agents trading on-chain:
“Agents earn money individually… and buy resources individually to keep them running.”
To listen to the entire conversation in bite-sized insights, listen to the entire episode on Cointelegraph's Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And remember to check out Cointelegraph's full lineup of other shows!
Magazine: How crypto rules changed in 2025 – and how they will change in 2026
