This week's crypto landscape is shaking things up. Zama just hit certain major exchanges, signaling institutional interest in privacy-focused protocols. Meanwhile, the intersection of AI and employment keeps drawing serious attention—venture capital hasn't missed it either, with a16z closing over $15 billion in fresh funding rounds.

On the DeFi front, there's persistent confusion around Pendle. Many miss the mark on how its yield tokenization mechanism actually operates. More fundamentally though, 2026 is lining up to be a breakout year for mainstream crypto adoption. Between infrastructure maturation, regulatory clarity emerging across jurisdictions, and consumer applications hitting real utility, we're potentially looking at a pivotal moment. The pieces are falling into place.