Saxo has released its annual Outrageous Predictions for 2026, the latest instalment in a long-running series of low-probability but high-impact scenarios designed to push debate beyond the consensus. While the forecasts are not Saxo’s house view, they explore the moments when gradual change gives way to sudden shifts. This year’s list spans quantum risk, culture, politics, healthcare, space markets, AI governance, and the future of global currency power.
John J Hardy, global head of macro strategy at Saxo, said the 2026 edition captures a world where even stability can feel surprising. He noted that the goal is not to get the predictions right, but to stretch thinking about what could happen if entrenched assumptions give way. In 2026, he suggested, smooth sailing itself may be the most outrageous outcome.
Saxo’s 2026 Outrageous Predictions
- Quantum leap Q-Day arrives early, crashing crypto and destabilizing world finance
- Taylor Swift-Kelce wedding spikes global growth
- Despite concerns, U.S. 2026 mid-term elections proceed smoothly
- Obesity drugs for everyone – even for pets
- SpaceX announces an IPO, supercharging extraterrestrial markets
- A Fortune 500 company names an AI model as CEO
- Dollar dominance challenged by Beijing’s golden yuan
- Dumb AI triggers trillion-dollar clean-up
Saxo’s new predictions include the early arrival of Q-Day, when quantum machines break existing cryptography, crashing crypto markets and forcing governments to rebuild digital security. Another scenario imagines a cultural swing triggered by a Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce wedding, lifting global growth through rising fertility, homebuilding and household formation.
Politics also features, with Saxo envisioning a US midterm election cycle that defies recent instability and proceeds without major disruption. Elsewhere, pill-form GLP-1 obesity drugs expand beyond humans into pet care, transforming food, retail and healthcare markets. SpaceX is imagined to go public with a trillion-dollar valuation, turning the space economy into a mainstream investment theme. A Fortune 500 company hypothetically appoints an AI model as CEO, forcing new governance structures. Beijing launches a gold-linked yuan that challenges the dollar’s primacy. And the spread of poorly governed automation triggers a trillion-dollar clean-up as companies scramble to undo the damage caused by dumb AI agents.
How accurate are Saxo’s Outrageous Predictions?
While designed to provoke, Saxo’s archive shows moments when the world has flirted with the outrageous. Several previous predictions have edged strikingly close to the mark.
Gold rockets to USD 3,000 (2022 prediction): Although the metal has not hit the level, sustained central bank buying and inflation concerns pushed gold repeatedly to record highs, bringing the scenario closer to reality.
- Related guide: How to invest in gold
Trump 2.0 blows up the US dollar (2025 prediction): Political risk and fiscal concerns have periodically weakened the dollar, making the theme more plausible than first assumed.
Nvidia doubles Apple’s value (2025 prediction): Nvidia’s surge in 2023 to 2024 briefly propelled it above Apple in market value, validating the direction of the call.
- Related guide: How to buy Nvidia from the UK
A country plans to ban all meat by 2030 (2023 prediction): While not enacted, several governments have explored aggressive emissions policies targeting livestock, echoing this idea.
Earlier predictions have also shown surprising accuracy. The 2017 call that bitcoin would triple proved directionally correct as the asset later soared far beyond that level. The 2015 prediction that the UK would lean toward an EU exit preceded the Brexit vote. And the 2013 call for gold to correct to USD 1,200 matched subsequent price action.
- Related guide: How to buy Bitcoin in the UK
As Saxo releases its 2026 edition, the bank notes that the value of the exercise lies not in accuracy but in imagination. Outrageous thinking, it argues, remains a useful tool for understanding a world where yesterday’s impossibility can become tomorrow’s baseline.
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