1kx Report: 2026 Blockchain Revenue Expected to Fall 28% Year Over Year; Real-Economy Revenue Surpasses Infrastructure for First Time

TechFlow news: On Oct 30, crypto investment firm 1kx released its annual report, the 1kx Blockchain Revenue Report 2026, on Oct 29. The report projects that blockchain industry revenue in 2026 will fall 28% year over year to about $99 billion. Revenue in 2025 was about $138 billion, close to the historical high of about $145 billion in 2021. The decline is roughly in line with the approximately 30% drop in crypto asset prices. Measured as a share of total crypto market capitalization, revenue levels are roughly flat.

The report is based on on-chain data for 2,621 protocols and financial statements of 104 listed companies, annualizing data from January to September 2026. DeFi and financial services account for about $65 billion, or 66%. In Q3, revenue from real-economy sources was about $5.3 billion, surpassing blockchain infrastructure's about $5.1 billion for the first time. Prediction market fees exceeded $1.5 billion, about 19 times the same period last year, concentrated mainly in Kalshi and Polymarket. RWA perpetual contracts accounted for 18% of total perpetual contract trading volume, with 55% being tokenized stocks. Listed companies' revenue share rose from 7% in 2022 to 16%, with Coinbase and Circle as the main contributors.

1kx expects blockchain revenue to recover over the coming quarters, driven by regulatory tailwinds, asset tokenization, and a shift in market conditions. The token index returns in the report are backtested data, not actual performance. 1kx disclosed that it may hold equity interests in projects covered in the report.

Source: TechFlow