Priority Inversion: Power Restructuring Demonstrated at Davos and the Turning Point for the Crypto Industry

The 2026 Davos World Economic Forum is no longer just an annual event; it has become a pivotal crossroads where actors standing at a signal-less intersection in the global economy are determining future priorities. The emergence of Donald Trump, the formal return of the U.S. Pavilion, and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s clear opposition to cryptocurrency legislation—these events are not merely political happenings but symbols of a reorganization of power structures in the digital economy era.

Currently, policymakers and industry leaders face a fundamental question: not how to regulate, but who will control the underlying rules of the economy. This battle has fully entered the political realm, where setting priorities directly influences the future of markets.

Policymakers at the Signalless Intersection

This year, the tone of the Davos Forum has shifted significantly. It has moved from a traditional “idea discussion” platform to an “implementation phase of institutional building.” With approximately 3,000 participants from 130 countries, including the highest number of U.S. cabinet officials and large corporate delegations ever, this evolution indicates that Davos has transformed from a mere forum for exchanging opinions into a crucial hub for policy decision-making and capital allocation.

Of particular note is the changing position of artificial intelligence within Davos. AI is now viewed beyond the category of “emerging technology” and is considered a “shared infrastructure” on par with energy and supply chains. The intensity of discussions around “computing power and access to AI” rivals the previous focus on “oil resources.” This shift signifies that the center of national competitiveness is moving from physical resources to data and computational resources.

Corporate executives are focusing on the “future foundation of organizations built in different economic eras.” The reality that “system durability” takes precedence over “development speed” is forcing strategic shifts over a decade. In this context, cryptocurrencies and digital finance are transitioning from mere speculative assets to systems that could play an important role in the future.

Infrastructure-Level Battles: Clash of Politics and Technology

In the digital finance sector, “systems thinking” is becoming increasingly ingrained. Daily transaction volumes of stablecoins reach billions of dollars, especially rapidly advancing in cross-border payments. Tokenization is quietly permeating capital markets, being adopted across a wide range of assets from fund products to real-world assets.

Cryptocurrencies have officially moved from testing phases into the realm of financial infrastructure. The signing of the “Web3 Davos Declaration” by the Davos Web3 Center in 2025, which explicitly supported the four principles of “Responsible Innovation, Sustainable Development, Accountability, and Trust,” demonstrates that this transition is irreversible.

Trump’s appearance at Davos added political weight to this process. His economic policies have long centered on “sovereignty, influence, and competitiveness,” and digital assets are positioned at the intersection of these three dimensions. Meanwhile, digital assets also align highly with policies promoting “faster payments, new capital formation models, and efficiency improvements.” However, they also create tensions with “enforcement of sanctions, financial regulation, and the international status of the dollar.”

Davos is not a legislative body, but it is a vital platform for “international communication of policy priorities.” How cryptocurrencies are positioned and interpreted at the forum greatly influences market and regulatory actions. The U.S. Pavilion’s formal return suggests that the U.S. government now clearly views Davos not as a “neutral background,” but as a “strategic platform shaping narratives around technology, capital, and influence.”

Brian Armstrong’s Warning: Advocating for Scientific Regulation

Against this backdrop, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s refusal to support the cryptocurrency legislation reflects industry maturity. Former industry leaders argued that “clear regulation is better than no regulation,” but that stance has fundamentally changed. If a highly structured bill passes, it could actually increase industry risks.

Armstrong’s concerns focus on three core points. First, the bill is designed to “artificially determine winners and losers,” favoring large existing corporations and centralized intermediaries while potentially excluding innovative startups and open networks. Second, compliance burdens will increase without providing legal clarity; the bill does not clearly define operational rules for crypto products and may add obligations that heighten legal uncertainty. Third, the bill risks steering the crypto ecosystem toward “highly centralized” directions, undermining the resilience architecture and global interoperability that cryptocurrencies inherently possess. This is not merely opposition to regulation but a strategic objection emphasizing “the scientific rigor and precision of regulation.” As cryptocurrencies become core infrastructure, unreasonable regulatory designs could lead to “system vulnerabilities,” “resource outflows,” and “long-term market concentration.”

Reorganizing the Underlying Rules of the Economy and Industry’s Future

Trump’s visit to Davos and Armstrong’s opposition to the bill may seem like actions on different levels, but they are expressions of the same fundamental battle over “the underlying rules of economic operation.” Trump is shaping “America’s strategic approach to competing in a technology-driven global economy” through Davos, while Armstrong is resisting “premature fixation of the future form of digital finance” through the legislative process.

Currently, priorities in this field are being clearly reorganized. The phase of speculation and experimentation is ending, giving way to a stage of power struggle over “who will control the core systems necessary for economic operation.” The actions of each actor at this signalless intersection will determine the structure of the digital economy over the next decade.

At Davos 2026, political leaders, industry executives, and regulators will each make decisions that effectively shape the future form of digital finance. This marks a “end of the experimental phase” for the cryptocurrency industry and a “complete integration into infrastructure-level realpolitik”—a turning point.