- Economist lays out why he is bullish on 2026.
- Key catalysts include the AI boom, record corporate performance, and friendly Fed.
A heady cocktail of bullish catalysts is set to ignite the crypto market in 2026, writes economist Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research.
He sees the US entering the steepest part of the “Roaring 2020s” curve, where a fusion of artificial intelligence, productivity breakthroughs, strong spending, and high liquidity propels risk-on assets like crypto to new highs.
Yardeni expects blue waters ahead after two years defined by inflation shocks, central bank tightening, wars, supply chain chaos and tariff flare-ups.
He lists five reasons why 2026 will be a blockbuster year.
Tech boosts productivity
Yardeni says we’re living through a huge technology shift he calls the “BRAIN Revolution,” built on biotech, robotics, AI, and nanotech.
“Technology is doing what the brain can do, but faster and with greater focus,” he wrote, arguing this wave is touching every major sector from healthcare to manufacturing to education.
These tools “supplement or replace the brain,” he said.
He added that productivity could grow 3% to 3.5% in the next few years.
When productivity rises, companies earn more, hire more, build more, and investors tend to get more confident.
Economy beats expectations
Yardeni says the US economy has stayed strong “despite numerous shocks.”
There was a pandemic, supply chain problems, inflation, and even a long government shutdown, but the economy kept moving forward.
“The economy has proven its resilience to all these challenges.”
He said the 2026 GDP will grow 3%, which is faster than usual. He also expects productivity, which measures how much work people get done, to rise even more.
That’s usually good for both stocks and digital assets.
Yardeni says the economy is so resilient that, instead of big crashes, we’ll keep seeing “rolling recessions,” in which only certain industries slow down while the rest stay strong.
Rising corporate profits
Yardeni says big, publicly traded companies are about to make a lot more money, too.
He projected profits for the S&P 500, the group of the biggest public companies, to jump from $268 per share on average this year to $310 in 2026, and then keep climbing through the rest of the decade.
When companies earn more, their stock prices usually rise.
And when people make money in the stock market, they often look for new places to invest that offer even higher returns.
So, if Yardeni’s forecast is correct, 2026 is set to see a wave of new buyers entering risk-on assets, pushing the market much higher.
Macro tailwind
Inflation has slowed to about 3%. Yardeni says it could hit the Fed’s 2% target next year, as productivity improves. Higher productivity often means companies don’t need to raise prices as fast.
He says inflation would already be lower if it hadn’t been for the tariffs implemented by US President Donald Trump, which pushed up goods prices.
A calmer inflation outlook helps crypto because it gives the Fed more room to pause rate hikes or even cut rates.
Lower rates make risk assets like crypto more attractive.
Stablecoin growth
Yardeni argues the proliferation of stablecoins backed by US Treasury bills will boost global demand for both Treasuries and the dollar, reinforcing US leadership rather than undermining it.
This aligns with the Treasury’s projections that stablecoins could reach $3 trillion by 2030, and Citi’s upper-bound forecast of $4 trillion.
Lance Datskoluo is DL News’ Europe-based markets correspondent. Got a tip? Email at lance@dlnews.com.
