Crypto’s Infrastructure Pivot: Inside BeInCrypto’s Executive Council

Executives from Bitpanda, Dune, and Libertex identify AI agents and demographic shifts as defining forces for 2026 More than fifteen years after the Bitcoin white paper sparked a revolution in how we think about money, the cryptocurrency industry is entering a period of rapid transformation. It now sits at the intersection of three powerful forces: co-option by incumbent financial institutions, the rise of AI agents, and the shifting demographics that come with mainstream adoption. What started as a fringe, ideologically pure attempt to escape centralised financial control is now being embraced by the very institutions it was designed to disrupt. The idealistic manifesto published by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, and the blockchain innovations that followed, is no longer confined to the margins. Crypto is quietly sliding into the plumbing of global finance. Crypto’s real-world use cases are no longer playing out in headlines, they’re being embedded quietly into the backend of global financial infrastructure. Many would argue this is a sign of maturity, and perhaps inevitable. But this transition brings with it a new set of challenges alongside the opportunities. That shift is forcing a rethink across the industry. The next phase of growth will not be driven by hype cycles, but by companies that understand how information is consumed and produced by both humans and AI systems, particularly autonomous agents whose transaction volumes may soon eclipse those of people. At the same time, crypto’s audience is expanding well beyond its early adopters, reshaping how distribution works. Take this as a case in point. What was once mocked by the Davos elite now dominates centre stage, generating daily headlines in once hostile TradFi broadsheets like the Financial Times. This new paradigm was clearly articulated at BeInCrypto’s inaugural Executive Council, where senior leaders from Bitpanda, Dune, and Libertex came together for an extended discussion on the industry’s mo...