Key Highlights
- Dragonfly’s Qureshi predicted that the crypto market will close the year higher than it started, driven by renewed momentum despite current despondency.
- The venture capitalist emphasized that 2026 will mark the entry of a fresh wave of (often very young) users who will leverage their AI agents to interact with and use crypto for transactions and activities.
- Qureshi highlighted that historical booms (e.g., ICOs bringing in Ethereum enthusiasts, DeFi protocols, NFTs, and memecoins) follow the same dynamic: the generation stepping back while a new one pushing adoption forward.
Speaking at CoinDesk’s Consensus 2026 Haseeb Qureshi, the Managing Partner at Dragonfly Capital, shared that the crypto market will close the year 2026 higher than it initially started. The venture capitalist believes that the forthcoming spikes in crypto prices will be pushed by a new generation of investors who are AI-agent specific.
“There has been alot of despondent in this market, alot of OGs quitting” Qureshi said and according to him, they all are essentially pivoting to AI.
“I think what we are gonna see is the entrance of a new generation in crypto, starting this year. And this generation of crypto is gonna be animated by seeing how crypto is getting used by agents,” he explained. “There are gonna be people very young and they don’t necessarily have credit cards… but they can get their agent to use crypto to do stuffs.”
Currently serving as a Managing Partner at Dragonfly, Haseeb Qureshi is a prominent figure in the crypto space. He has remained a highly influential voice in the space since the past few years, with him having a notable following on X.
Responding to the question on his predictions for the crypto industry in 2026, Qureshi further emphasized that the crypto-cycles are essentially fueled with a new generation of investors leading the charge.
His views starkly match with the history of crypto. Over the years, all the market catalysts and trends have followed the same patterns. For instance, it happened with the ICO boom when Ethereum people came in and all Bitcoin maxis took a step back. Similarly, the decentralized protocol trend (DeFi boom), trend around NFT, and memecoins also followed.
“I think every generation of crypto, the old guard needs to get lost and the new guard, who is more optimistic, who is excited about the new use cases and who has a fresh set of eyes and narratives, needs to come in and take over,” he said.
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