Y Combinator Releases Crypto Startup Guide: Doubling Down on Asset Tokenization, Stablecoins and AI Trading Agents

October 29 — Y Combinator has released its October 2026 crypto startup guide, noting that over the past year growth in the crypto industry was led by institutions rather than consumers for the first time, and that use cases are shifting from speculative trading to real financial needs such as oil hedging and cross-border corporate treasury flows. The firm expects crypto adoption to accelerate further.

Y Combinator believes that various asset classes will be tokenized at a faster pace in the future, expanding from stablecoins and stocks to real estate titles, debt and commodities; meanwhile, startup equity and small-ticket assets that were previously difficult to securitize may also enter the market through on-chain issuance. Around these assets, financial infrastructure such as trading, lending and derivatives will continue to develop, and AI agents may become important financial participants.

For startup directions over the next six months, Y Combinator is focused on AI financing, U.S. dollar and other currency stablecoins, neobanks, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, trading platforms, and crypto API infrastructure for AI agents. The firm believes that while traditional financial institutions face challenges, this also creates startup opportunities for a new generation of fintech companies.