What's Next For Crypto In 2026 | Kairos Research

The discussion centers on the Solana validator landscape, exploring the roles of various client software like JITO BAM, Firedancer, and Harmonic, and the impact of incentives on validator operations. Kairos Research's Ian Unsworth shares insights on running validators across multiple networks, including Solana, Fogo, Babylon, Celestia, and Monad. The conversation highlights the trend of stake pools controlling networks and the economic incentives driving validator behavior, such as zero-commission strategies. The future of meme coins and the potential for fee compression in perp DEXs are also addressed, alongside the importance of tokenized real-world assets and the challenges of stablecoin adoption.