Key Highlights
- Standard Chartered expects Ethereum to outperform Bitcoin in 2026, despite trimming near-term ETH price targets.
- The bank points to Ethereum’s dominance in stablecoins, tokenized assets, and DeFi as structural advantages.
- Longer-term forecasts were raised, with ETH seen reaching $40,000 by 2030.
Standard Chartered has sharpened its conviction around Ethereum (ETH), calling 2026 “the year of Ethereum” as the network’s fundamentals continue to strengthen relative to Bitcoin (BTC). The view was laid out in the bank’s latest digital assets research note, authored by Geoffrey Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Assets Research.
Kendrick expects near-term ETH price targets amid broader softness in crypto markets. Although he argued that Ethereum is better positioned than Bitcoin to benefit from the next phase of onchain adoption.
In an X post on Monday, crypto reporter Naga Avan-Nomayo noted that Standard Chartered now pegs ETH at $7,500 by end-2026, down from $12,000, with targets of $15,000 in 2027 and $22,000 in 2028, while lifting longer-term forecasts to $30,000 in 2029 and $40,000 in 2030.
Why Ethereum, not Bitcoin
According to the report, Bitcoin’s recent underperformance has weighed on the digital asset complex as a whole. Relative to Bitcoin, however, Ethereum’s use cases are expanding. The bank highlighted Ethereum’s leading role in stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, and decentralized finance, areas it expects to drive sustained demand for blockspace and fees.
Standard Chartered also expects the ETH-BTC ratio to trend back toward its 2021 highs near 0.08 as these sectors scale. More than half of all stablecoins and tokenized assets already settle on Ethereum, a share the bank believes will grow as traditional finance continues to move onchain.
Network activity and institutional flows
Ethereum’s onchain activity is reinforcing that thesis. Transaction counts have recently pushed to new highs, driven largely by stablecoin usage, which now accounts for roughly 35% to 40% of network transactions. The bank said rising Layer 1 throughput, including improvements rolled out in December’s Fusaka upgrade, has historically correlated with higher market capitalization.
In a separate post this week, Vitalik Buterin argued that Ethereum must be able to “pass the walkaway test,” meaning the network should remain secure, usable, and valuable even if development slowed or stopped entirely. He emphasized durability over nonstop upgrades, pointing to needs like quantum resistance, scalability, and fewer hidden dependencies that could undermine Ethereum’s trust-minimized design.
Regulation and the longer view
Looking ahead, the bank sees regulatory clarity as an additional tailwind. It pointed to the proposed U.S. Clarity Act, which it expects to pass in early 2026, as a potential catalyst for renewed risk appetite. A supportive equity market backdrop could lift Bitcoin to new highs later this year, a scenario Standard Chartered believes would also reinforce Ethereum’s longer-term upside.
Ethereum is trading near $3,118, little changed on the day, with a market capitalization of around $376 billion. Trading volume jumped over 140% in 24 hours, signaling active repositioning as investors balance long-term optimism with short-term caution.
For the bank, the takeaway is simple: even with near-term targets cut, Ethereum looks better positioned as crypto shifts from speculation to real financial plumbing in 2026.
Also read: Bitmine Deepens ETH Bet as Holdings Climb Past 4.16M
