From Hiring to IPOs, Crypto Startups Plan for Growth in 2026

CoinFund reveals 84% of blockchain startups surveyed plan to grow headcount, 40% eyeing IPO or public listings as we head into 2026

NEW YORK, Dec. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2026 CoinFund Founders' Forecast, released today, reveals that blockchain founders surveyed plan significant expansion: 84% expect to grow their teams, and 40% are considering public listings or major structural moves within the next 24 months.

The survey, conducted in November 2025, collected responses from founders and executives at 25 Seed and Series A-stage portfolio companies. Respondents represent a cross-section of CoinFund's portfolio companies.

"Crypto now has multiple real examples of products achieving meaningful adoption. Between stablecoins and payments, onchain trading and perps, and DeFi yield-bearing products like staking and lending markets, onchain finance will be a front and center narrative in 2026," said David Pakman, Managing Partner and Head of Venture Investments, CoinFund. This product-market fit has inspired our founders to continue innovating and achieve adoption and usage, as well as explore pathways such as IPOs and direct listings. After last year's election, crypto optimism is high, and our founders are excited to continue to grow their teams, make an impact with their products, and raise more capital in the new year."

Hiring increases remain unaffected

While major technology companies continue to announce layoffs, blockchain startups report the opposite trajectory. 84% plan to grow teams, up from 79.5% last year, and zero percent plan to downsize, down from 6.8%. More than half of those hiring expect headcount growth of 50% or more, with demand concentrated in Product/Engineering and Business Development/Sales roles.

Projected 2026 trends: Stablecoins, IPOs, and apps

Founders surveyed ranked fintech and stablecoins as the sector best positioned for growth in 2026 at 28%, followed by consumer apps and RWAs/tokenized assets tied at 20%, with DeFi at 12%. This marks a shift from last year, when consumer apps topped predictions.

40% of respondents are considering forming a DAO or a Foundation, or pursuing a public listing such as an IPO, RTO, or direct listing within the next 24 months. The appetite for public markets and formal governance structures reflects an industry that has matured through the bear market and now sees a viable path forward following 2024's spot Bitcoin ETF approvals and a more favorable regulatory posture from the US. For many founders, the combination of regulatory clarity, institutional validation, and battle-tested products makes 2026 the first realistic window to pursue liquidity events that were previously out of reach for the past few years, with 76% planning to raise in 2026, up from 70.5% last year.

Fundraising targets shared by our respondents are distributed across stages, with 20% planning to seek more than $25M and the remainder spread across funding targets from under $5M to $25M. Founders cited a range of objectives for new capital, from scaling go-to-market operations and expanding product teams to building infrastructure for institutional clients and capturing consumer adoption as blockchain-based financial products reach mainstream users.

Alleviated barriers allow for focus on growth

"The world is still figuring out how to think about crypto as both a technology and asset class, and it's putting unnecessary barriers (e.g. regulatory uncertainty) in the way of progress," said Ben Fielding, Co-Founder and CEO of Gensyn.

When asked to rank the greatest threats to their growth, founders identified finding product-market fit as their top concern at 24%, followed by access to capital at 20%. Revenue has also become a priority for the majority of founders, with 56% describing monetisation as "important" or "extremely important" to their business in the coming year.

Founders report high engagement with US regulatory developments. 76% describe themselves as "informed" or "very well informed" about the current landscape, with zero respondents indicating they are uninformed or consider regulation irrelevant to their business. Concerns over the US regulatory environment have lessened from last year, suggesting recent policy developments and clearer guidance in the US have removed significant barriers, allowing founders to shift focus toward execution and customer acquisition.

"What keeps me up at night is that every day, people don't know that crypto has matured so much from when they last heard of it," said Matt Nofi, Marketing Lead at Flow Foundation, "It's not just scamcoins anymore. Programmable money has the opportunity to improve their lives so much."

"We have a real opportunity to advance this market responsibly," said Jim Hiltner, Co-Founder and Head of Business Development at Superstate. "Even with a relatively permissive environment in the U.S., we're still in the early days of integrating securities into DeFi, and we want to ensure we're making thoughtful progress during this moment of alignment."

The full 2026 CoinFund Founders' Forecast is available at coinfund.io.

About CoinFund

CoinFund is one of the world's first crypto-native investment firms and a registered investment adviser founded in 2015. The firm champions the leaders of the new internet, powered by foresight, as active investors to achieve extraordinary outcomes. CoinFund invests in seed, venture, and liquid opportunities within the blockchain sector with a focus on digital assets, decentralisation technologies, and key enabling infrastructure.

For more information, visit coinfund.io

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SOURCE CoinFund