Standard Chartered Sets $7,500 Ethereum Target for End-2026

Standard Chartered now targets Ethereum at $7,500 by end-2026, down from a previous $12,000 forecast, while raising longer-term projections to $15,000 for 2027, $22,000 for 2028, $30,000 for end-2029 and $40,000 for end-2030, according to its digital asset report on Jan. 12. The bank said rising adoption of blockchain and on-chain products is strengthening Ethereum's drivers relative to Bitcoin and expects the ETH/BTC rate to gradually return toward the 0.08 level seen in 2021, supported by structural advantages across stablecoins, real-world assets and decentralized finance. Standard Chartered added that planned Layer 1 throughput increases—including measures adopted via the Fusaka upgrade in December 2024—are viewed as critical because historically higher throughput often correlates with higher market capitalization, and a more favorable regulatory backdrop, specifically a US Clarity Act that could pass in the first quarter, could further improve the outlook. The bank said that if the act is approved and combined with resilient US equities, Bitcoin could set an all-time high in the first half, a scenario that would support Ethereum's longer-term upside even as near-term ETH targets were reduced amid broader market weakness.