Standard Chartered has reaffirmed its long-term Ethereum (ETH) price target of $40,000 by the end of 2030, citing the network’s continued dominance in the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) sector. In a report published on May 28, 2026, Geoff Kendrick, Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered, identified 2026 as the “Year of Ethereum.” The bank remains bullish on the asset’s utility despite a current price of roughly $2,000.
The global banking giant views Ethereum as deeply undervalued relative to its network activity, comparing its current market structure to Amazon during the 2001 dot-com bust. While Ethereum recovery outlook remains a topic of debate following a 60% drop from its August 2025 peak of $4,953, the bank’s research highlights record-breaking fundamentals. Ethereum surpassed 200 million transactions in the first quarter of 2026, marking its highest quarterly activity to date.
Standard Chartered attributes much of this value to the network’s role as the primary settlement layer for decentralized liquidity. Ethereum currently holds between $43 billion and $45 billion in DeFi Total Value Locked (TVL). This represents approximately 53% of all global DeFi liquidity, cementing its position even as competitors emerge. Recent Ethereum price prediction analysis suggests that this structural grip on the market is a key driver for long-term price appreciation.
Projected milestones for Ethereum growth through 2030
The bank’s forecast includes a series of rising price targets through the end of the decade. Standard Chartered expects Ethereum to hit $12,000 by the end of 2026, followed by $18,000 in 2027 and $25,000 by the end of 2028. By 2029, the bank anticipates a price of $30,000 before reaching the final $40,000 target in 2030. These figures reflect an expectation of massive organic demand growth as institutional interest matures.
Stablecoins are expected to be a primary catalyst for this trajectory. Standard Chartered estimates the stablecoin market will reach $2 trillion by 2028, an eightfold increase from current levels. Ethereum currently hosts more than half of all total stablecoins issued. Given that stablecoins support 40% of total blockchain fees, the network is positioned to capture a significant portion of this expanding market’s revenue.
Institutional accumulation has also accelerated significantly. Since June 1, fund managers for Ethereum ETFs have purchased 3.8% of the circulating ETH supply. This accumulation rate nearly doubles the fastest rate seen for Bitcoin during the 2024 U.S. election cycle. Furthermore, treasury firms purchased approximately 2.3 million Ether over a period of two and a half months, representing 1.9% of the total supply.
Technical scalability and the road to mass adoption
Standard Chartered’s bullish outlook is also supported by recent technical improvements to the blockchain. The Fusaka upgrade, implemented in December, increased base layer performance across the network. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has stated plans to increase Layer 1 throughput by ten times, aimed at supporting more high-value on-chain transactions while migrating lower-value activity to Layer 2 solutions.
The bank notes that moving high-volume transactions to platforms like Arbitrum and Base will allow the main Ethereum chain to focus on security and high-value settlements. As these technical pieces fall into place, the bank expects the ETH-BTC exchange rate to recover. Currently sitting at 0.036, the rate is predicted to rise to 0.05 by the end of 2025 and eventually return to 0.08 by the end of the decade.
This technical maturation coincides with shifting trader interest across the broader crypto market. For example, XRP speculative activity has recently increased as investors look for diversified exposure, but Standard Chartered maintains that Ethereum remains the premier platform for institutional-grade products and tokenized exposure.
Regulatory frameworks and tokenized real-world assets
The legal landscape is providing further tailwinds for the Ethereum ecosystem. The passage of the GENIUS Act in July established a clear regulatory environment in the U.S. for stablecoins, providing the necessary clarity for custodial offerings and product innovation. This regulatory progress is seen as a prerequisite for the growth of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).
Standard Chartered projects that the market for tokenized real-world assets could reach $4 trillion by 2030. Ethereum’s dominance in this specific sub-sector of the blockchain industry is likely to drive sustained demand for the token. With greater clarity in custody frameworks across the U.S., EU, and Asia, the bank believes the hurdles for large-scale institutional entry are rapidly dissolving.
While Bitcoin remains the market leader in price—hitting an all-time high near $126,000 before its recent 42% correction—Ethereum’s utility as a settlement layer offers a different value proposition. The bank’s report suggests that as decentralized applications and protocols continue to expand, Ether’s role as the “gas” for these systems will eventually decouple its performance from speculative cycles.
