Standard Chartered Projects Ethereum to Reach $40,000 by 2030 Amidst Strategic Reassessment
Standard Chartered has issued a revised outlook for Ethereum (ETH), setting an ambitious long-term price target of $40,000 by the close of 2030. This optimistic long-range projection comes alongside a notable adjustment to its nearer-term forecasts, including a significant reduction for its end-2026 estimate. The bank’s analysis suggests that while broader crypto market dynamics, particularly Bitcoin’s performance, have tempered absolute price targets in the short to medium term, Ethereum’s intrinsic value and relative positioning are poised for substantial improvement.
Re-evaluating Ethereum’s Trajectory
In a detailed research note, Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s digital assets analyst, highlighted 2026 as a pivotal year for Ethereum’s performance relative to Bitcoin. Despite trimming the immediate ETH-USD path, Kendrick expressed increased confidence in Ethereum’s underlying prospects. He anticipates a gradual resurgence in the ETH/BTC cross, ultimately returning to its 2021 peak, underscoring this as the central tenet of his investment thesis.
Kendrick elaborated on the rationale behind the near-term markdown, attributing it primarily to the gravitational pull of Bitcoin’s price action on dollar-denominated digital assets. This influence necessitated a downward revision of absolute price targets through 2028, even as the fundamental strengths of Ethereum continue to solidify.
“I think 2026 will be the year of Ethereum, much like 2021 was,” Kendrick stated, emphasizing the network’s potential to carve out a dominant narrative.
A Decade of Growth: Standard Chartered’s Price Projections
Standard Chartered’s updated price forecasts for Ethereum reveal a strategic recalibration across various time horizons:
- End-2026: Revised to $7,500 (down from previous estimate of $12,000)
- 2027: Adjusted to $15,000 (down from $18,000)
- 2028: Set at $22,000 (down from $25,000)
- 2029: Increased to $30,000 (up from $25,000)
- End-2030: New long-range target of $40,000
Unpacking Ethereum’s Foundational Strengths
Kendrick’s analysis points to several Ethereum-specific catalysts that are expected to drive its relative outperformance rather than immediate spot-price gains. These structural demand drivers paint a robust picture for the network’s long-term viability:
- Institutional Accumulation: Continued significant accumulation by entities like Bitmine Immersion Technologies, identified as the largest Ethereum-focused digital asset treasury company. This trend persists even as broader corporate treasury buying and ETF inflows have seen a temporary slowdown.
- Ecosystem Centrality: Ethereum’s indispensable role as the backbone for stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), and the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. These applications represent core utilities driving sustained demand.
- Technological Advancement: Ongoing execution of plans to enhance Ethereum’s layer-1 throughput by approximately tenfold over the next two to three years. This scalability improvement is critical for supporting increasing network activity.
Kendrick underscored the critical link between capacity and value, noting:
“Analysis shows that higher throughput translates into higher market cap.”
Regulatory Landscape as a Catalyst
Beyond technological and ecosystem developments, regulation is also identified as a significant potential tailwind for Ethereum. Kendrick specifically cited the US CLARITY Act as a legislative development that could profoundly benefit the digital asset sector, with particular emphasis on ETH. Passage of this act could unlock a new phase of DeFi activity, providing further impetus for growth. The US Senate is slated to review the bill on January 15, with potential passage anticipated in Q1.
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