Binance’s head for Asia-Pacific, SB Seker, said that the outlook for cryptocurrencies for 2026 will depend on three factors: regulation, liquidity and the industry’s shift from speculation to real benefit.
In an interview with Business Standard, Secker said the next phase of cryptocurrency growth will be shaped less by meme-based trading and more by infrastructure, stablecoins, tokenization and institutional participation.
His comments come at a difficult moment for Binance. Reuters reported that the exchange is set to lose permission to serve clients in the European Union after Greece’s market regulator moved to reject its application under the EU’s MiCA framework, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Under MiCA, cryptocurrency companies must obtain the required license by the end of June to continue serving customers across the bloc. Binance said it believes it meets all MiCA requirements and will work to support an orderly operation while minimizing user disruption.
Binance is referring to the utility as the next crypto cycle
Higher interest rates, changing regulation and a move away from purely speculative trading are the main forces shaping digital assets in 2026, Secker said, according to Business Standard.
He said the next phase of the market will be driven by infrastructure use cases rather than short-term hype. Stablecoins, real token assets, and institutional trading are expected to play a larger role as the market matures.
The numbers support part of this argument. The total market cap of cryptocurrencies exceeded $4 trillion in 2025, Secker said. Binance also reported a year-on-year increase in institutional trading volume, while OTC fiat trading rose 210% in 2025.
The supply of stablecoins now exceeds $300 billion, while real-world token assets have exceeded $19.3 billion by the end of the first quarter of 2026, Secker said in the interview.
Europe tests Binance’s regulatory playing field
Secker cited organizational clarity as one of the biggest motivators of institutional engagement. He cited the US GENIUS and CLARITY laws, the European MiCA framework, and licensing regimes in Asia as examples of rules that could make it easier for organizations to enter the market.
This letter now sits alongside the regulatory challenge Binance faces in Europe. Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission is expected to reject Binance’s MiCA application, which will prevent the exchange from continuing to serve EU-based clients starting in July, Reuters reported.
Binance said in a post on X that it will “support orderly operation and minimize disruption” to users. The company also said it believes it has met MiCA requirements and that the Greek regulator has completed its review without giving a formal indication of rejection.
Contrast is important. Binance publicly argues that clear regulation will support the next phase of cryptocurrency growth, while its access to one of the world’s largest regulated markets remains uncertain.
India remains a growth market despite tax friction
Sekar described India as a strategic priority for Binance. He said India has ranked first globally in cryptocurrency adoption for three consecutive years, supported by its young population, mobile penetration of over 80%, and adoption across tier-I to tier-IV cities.
But taxes remain a major obstacle. India’s 1% issuer deduction on virtual digital assets impacts capital efficiency and trading frequency as it limits how quickly traders can reuse capital, Sekar said.
He called for a risk-proportionate framework covering custody standards, segregation of client assets, and consumer protection. This would allow India to maintain oversight while giving cryptocurrency companies clearer rules for growth.
Binance CEO Richard Teng made a similar argument earlier in 2026. In an interview with the Economic Times during the World Economic Forum, he said that regulatory clarity would be important for cryptocurrency adoption in India and argued that the digital asset could complement the country’s UPI payment system by enabling 24/7 borderless payments.
Stablecoins and tokenization are leading the Asia-Pacific thesis
Seeker has identified three drivers of growth in Asia over the next three to five years.
The first is to integrate blockchain into traditional banking through tokenized real-world assets. The second is the use of stablecoins as settlement instruments in stock markets and cross-border payments. The third is Web3 infrastructure, including Layer 2 networks that can support scalable applications.
He also pointed to growing institutional exposure to Bitcoin. More than 1.07 million bitcoins are already controlled by 174 public companies and ETFs, Sicker said, arguing that institutional participation has moved beyond the early experimentation phase.
The broader point is that Binance sees the next growth cycle as dependent on infrastructure. Instead of relying primarily on speculative trading, the industry is trying to build use cases related to settlement, asset issuance, custody, and institutional access.
Binance faces a deadline for its future in the European Union
The next test is regulatory, not technical. If Binance fails to obtain MiCA approval by the end of June, it may lose the ability to serve EU clients from July.
This would create a major setback for a company that publicly promotes regulatory clarity as a path to mainstream adoption.
For investors and cryptocurrency companies, the tension is palpable. The industry’s long-term growth story depends on stablecoins, tokens, institutional liquidity, and clearer rules. But Binance’s European woes show that regulatory clarity can also exclude major players who fail to meet local expectations.
The next few weeks will determine whether Binance can maintain its EU access or become the clearest example of how MiCA is reshaping the cryptocurrency market.
