Standard Chartered kept its bullish stance on Ether even as ETH has struggled near the $2,000 level. Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, said the token’s market price has become disconnected from Ethereum’s underlying network strength, comparing the situation to Amazon’s stock slump after the 2001 dot-com crash.
According to Kendrick, Ethereum’s core indicators remain strong. He said on-chain transaction counts and total value locked, measured in ETH, are both near record highs, while ETH itself has fallen about 57% from its August 2025 peak and has been trading around $2,000. Over the same period, the ETH/BTC ratio dropped about 37%.
Bank keeps 2026 and 2030 price targets unchanged
Despite the weak price action, the bank maintained its long-term targets. Kendrick reiterated a forecast of $4,000 for Ether by the end of 2026 and $40,000 by the end of 2030. He also said the ETH/BTC ratio could recover toward its 2021 high of about 0.08 before 2030.
Stablecoins and RWA seen as Ethereum’s main growth engines
Standard Chartered’s thesis centers on Ethereum’s leading position in stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets, or RWA. The bank expects global stablecoin market capitalization to rise from $321 billion to $2 trillion by the end of 2028. It said about 54% of all stablecoins are issued on Ethereum. Based on data from the start of 2026 to the present, stablecoins accounted for roughly one-third of Ethereum transaction volume and about 60% of TVL on the network.
For tokenized RWA, Kendrick projected 50x growth by the end of 2028, also reaching a market size of $2 trillion. Ethereum currently holds about 62% of RWA assets and 68% of active on-chain lending, according to the report. If that market expands as expected, Kendrick said Ethereum’s transaction volume and TVL would continue setting new highs.
US regulatory progress is also part of the outlook
Beyond on-chain data, the bank pointed to regulation in the US. Kendrick said he is optimistic about progress on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, arguing that a clearer framework for digital assets could support DeFi activity and help drive stronger usage across the Ethereum network.