Standard Chartered is keeping a bullish stance on Ethereum even as the crypto market pulls back in the short term. Geoff Kendrick, the bank’s head of digital asset research, said the current setup still offers an attractive risk-reward profile for holding ETH and Bitmine Immersion (BMNR) into the weekend, based on on-chain data, corporate capital flows, and macro conditions.
Fusaka upgrade tied to stronger Ethereum network activity
Kendrick said the recent price decline has not damaged Ethereum’s underlying fundamentals. Over the past few weeks, activity on the Ethereum mainnet has accelerated, with transaction counts repeatedly reaching record highs. He linked that trend to the Fusaka upgrade completed in December last year, which increased overall network capacity and eased earlier technical bottlenecks.
In his view, Fusaka differs from many prior upgrades because it delivered a structural improvement rather than a short-lived boost. That has made on-chain operations smoother for users and developers, supporting more durable network growth.
Bitmine seen as a key signal in corporate ETH accumulation
Standard Chartered also pointed to corporate positioning as an important signal. Bitmine Immersion is described as the company holding the largest amount of Ether globally, and chairman Tom Lee said at the annual shareholder meeting that the firm plans to keep expanding its ETH allocation and acquisitions.
Kendrick said Bitmine’s willingness to keep buying during a market pullback reflects long-term conviction from larger institutions. That does not remove near-term volatility, but it does provide a measure of support for sentiment around Ethereum.
Macro pressures ease as risk asset conditions improve
On the macro side, Kendrick said several sources of uncertainty have started to ease. He pointed to cooling trade and geopolitical risks, stabilization in Japan’s bond market after panic selling, and rising expectations that US monetary policy could turn more accommodative. Taken together, those shifts have improved the backdrop for risk assets.
His view is that relatively loose monetary conditions would support volatile assets such as cryptocurrencies. At current levels, Standard Chartered remains constructive on both ETH and Bitmine Immersion, while still warning that market swings remain a factor investors need to weigh carefully.