Standard Chartered has spent the second half of the year publishing research notes on a range of crypto altcoins, and most of the tokens it initiated have posted solid gains since those reports were released, according to a Sept. 30 roundup by BlockBeats.
UNI moved past the bank’s 2026 target
On June 16, Standard Chartered initiated coverage on Uniswap. Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s head of digital assets research, said UNI could rise 40x to $100 by the end of 2030 and set a 2026 price target of $6.50.
As of publication, UNI was trading at $8.85, up about 210% since the report was published. That means the token has already moved beyond the bank’s target for this year.
AAVE thesis centered on protocol growth and tokenized assets
On June 23, Geoff Kendrick said AAVE could climb to $3,500 by the end of 2030, versus roughly $70 when the note was released, implying a roughly 50x increase.
Kendrick also said the value of tokenized assets actively used in DeFi applications could expand 37x by the end of the decade. Standard Chartered argued that because Aave’s revenue model is closely tied to lending activity and deposits, protocol growth should translate relatively directly into gains for the AAVE token.
As of publication, AAVE was at $160, up about 122% since the research note came out.
Morpho and LINK were both tied to tokenization growth
On July 1, Standard Chartered initiated coverage on Morpho. The bank said the project stands to benefit mainly from tokenized traditional financial assets entering DeFi and projected that the token could rise 33x to $60 by the end of 2030.
As of publication, Morpho was trading at $2.56, up about 34% since the report.
On Aug. 10, the bank also initiated coverage on Chainlink and said LINK could rise from roughly $8 at the time to $200 by the end of 2030, a 25x increase.
As of publication, LINK was at $14.26, up about 74% after the note was published.
SKY and ARB were framed around stablecoins and network revenue
On Sept. 11, Standard Chartered initiated coverage on the DeFi protocol Sky and set a year-end 2028 target of $0.325 for SKY. The bank said that as USDS adoption and borrowing capacity expand, the value passed on to token holders by 2028 could reach more than five times the current level.
As of publication, SKY was trading at $0.0819, up about 38% since the report.
On Sept. 16, the bank initiated coverage on ARB and said the token could rise from about $0.14 to $10 by the end of 2030. The stated reason was revenue expected from networks including Robinhood Chain.
As of publication, ARB was at $0.2040, up about 34% since the research note was released.
Ethena was the latest initiation
In its latest note, published today, Standard Chartered initiated coverage on Ethena and gave ENA a 2028 target of $2. Analysts said Ethena sits at the intersection of perpetuals, tokenization and stablecoins, and that ENA could benefit from growth across those segments as well as a newly launched buyback plan.
The bank also said Ethena is currently the fourth-largest stablecoin issuer, behind only Tether, Circle and Sky.
Three themes run through the bank’s altcoin framework
Across the names it has covered this year, Standard Chartered’s valuation framework has clustered around three core themes: DeFi revenue, token buybacks, and expansion in real-world assets and stablecoins.
BlockBeats said investors can continue using that framework as a way to screen for stronger altcoin candidates in the current cycle.