Stablecoins and Ethereum are set to become the most critical pieces of on-chain financial infrastructure in 2026, according to investor Yili Hua, who outlined the framework behind recent portfolio positioning in WLFI and Ether.In a post shared publicly, Hua described 2026 as the first true year of large-scale financial activity moving on-chain, arguing that stablecoins and Ethereum will form the foundational rails for this transition.On-chain finance enters a new phaseHua said the decision by WLFI to swap Bitcoin holdings into Ether reflects the same underlying thesis: that Ethereum is the settlement layer for on-chain finance, while stablecoins are the transactional medium.“Stablecoins and Ethereum are the most important infrastructure,” Hua wrote, adding that portfolio allocation decisions are increasingly driven by this structural view rather than short-term market cycles.Three long-term paths for USD1Hua outlined three potential growth paths for USD1, the stablecoin associated with WLFI, positioning it within the broader evolution of digital payments and financial infrastructure.1. Scale within the global stablecoin marketHua said USD1 could:Surpass $100 billion in supply in the near termExceed $1 trillion in the medium termUltimately capture a meaningful share of a projected $3 trillion global stablecoin market over the long run2. Integration with large Web2 platformsHua argued that USD1 is likely to partner with Web2 companies with hundreds of millions of active users, citing the advantages of stablecoin payments over traditional card networks.In his view, stablecoins offer:Faster settlementLower costsGlobal accessibility without legacy intermediariesSuch integrations could bring billions of users into blockchain-based payment systems.3. Core infrastructure for on-chain financial marketsLooking further ahead, Hua described a future tens-of-trillions-of-dollars on-chain financial market, where USD1 could emerge as a key infrastructure layer.He highlighted WLFI’s perceived strengths in:Brand recognitionRegulatory complianceEnterprise (ToB) servicesExisting user baseThese factors, he said, position USD1 to play a central role in on-chain finance at scale.Allocation rationale: ETH and WLFIHua concluded that this framework explains the strategy behind heavy allocation to ETH and a significant position in WLFI, framing both as infrastructure bets rather than speculative trades.As financial activity increasingly migrates on-chain, he said, assets tied directly to settlement, payments, and compliance-ready infrastructure are likely to benefit disproportionately.
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