Perpetual Contracts to Shape Crypto Market Sentiment by 2026

According to ChainCatcher, DWF Labs has stated on social media that perpetual contracts will become a key indicator of crypto market sentiment by 2026. Unlike spot trading, perpetual contracts can compress market beliefs into real-time signals, including funding rates, open interest, trade volume quality, liquidations, and position behavior. DWF Labs also announced a $75 million DeFi fund aimed at supporting infrastructure that drives this momentum, covering perpetual contracts, currency markets, and yield protocols that can scale with actual demand. The organization anticipates that the perpetual contracts market will attract significant new liquidity by 2026. Additionally, the report highlights that the crypto industry is expected to have undergone a self-restructuring by 2026, with real-world assets (RWAs) growing from $4 billion to $18 billion, and the stablecoin market expanding by 50%.