Standard Chartered Foresees Ethereum Dominance Among Cryptocurrencies in 2026

Standard Chartered has expressed cautious optimism about Ethereum’s price outlook, even as it lowered some of its short-term forecasts amid broad weakness across cryptocurrency markets. According to Jeffrey Kendrick, the bank’s Head of Global Digital Asset Research, Ethereum is still positioned to outperform its peers in 2026, supported by the network’s consistently strong fundamentals.

In a note accompanying the bank’s latest digital asset report, Kendrick stated: "I believe 2026 will be the year of Ethereum, just as 2021 was". He explained that the accelerating adoption of blockchain technology and its real-world applications could give Ethereum a clear competitive edge in the period ahead.

This view comes as Standard Chartered has grown more constructive on Ethereum relative to Bitcoin, despite revising down its absolute price targets for the coming years. The bank now expects Ethereum to reach around $7,500 by the end of 2026, down from a previous forecast of $12,000. It then projects prices of $15,000 in 2027 and $22,000 in 2028, both below earlier estimates. By contrast, the bank raised its longer-term outlook, setting a target of $30,000 by the end of 2029 and $40,000 by the end of 2030.

Part of this adjustment reflects Bitcoin’s weaker-than-expected performance, which has weighed on the broader digital asset outlook against the US dollar, given Bitcoin’s dominant market share. Nevertheless, Kendrick stressed that Ethereum’s underlying growth drivers remain structurally stronger than Bitcoin’s, increasing the likelihood that it can regain momentum over time.

Within this framework, Standard Chartered expects the Ethereum-to-Bitcoin ratio to gradually return toward its 2021 peak of around 0.08. This expectation is grounded in Ethereum’s structural advantages, which many other cryptocurrencies lack. These include its leading role in stablecoins, tokenized assets, and decentralized finance (DeFi), alongside ongoing efforts to improve scalability and network efficiency.

Although investment flows into crypto exchange-traded products and institutional treasury vehicles have generally slowed, the Kendrick team noted that their preference still leans toward Ethereum over Bitcoin. The report highlighted continued accumulation by BitMine Immersion, currently the largest Ethereum-focused digital asset treasury, which holds about 3.4% of the circulating ETH supply and remains on track to reach its stated target of 5%.

At the same time, Standard Chartered reiterated its positive outlook for stablecoins and digital assets more broadly, forecasting that their combined market size could reach $2 trillion by 2028. The bank expects much of this growth to be concentrated on Ethereum, noting that more than half of all risk-weighted stablecoins and digital assets already operate on the network, a share likely to increase as traditional financial activity continues to migrate on-chain.

Network fundamentals further support this view. Ethereum transaction volumes have recently hit record highs, driven primarily by stablecoin usage, which now accounts for roughly 35% to 40% of all transactions on the network.

In addition, the bank pointed to planned increases in Ethereum’s Layer-1 throughput, including upgrades introduced under the FUSAKA update in December, as critical to the network’s long-term trajectory. Kendrick noted that higher data throughput has historically been associated with rising market capitalization, underscoring the strategic importance of these enhancements.

Standard Chartered also highlighted Ethereum’s regular twice-yearly upgrade cycle, which it views as a key mechanism for expanding the network’s capabilities and supporting its evolution into a trillion-dollar digital ecosystem.

Beyond technology, the bank emphasized the supportive role of regulation. In particular, it referenced the proposed US Transparency Act, which it expects to be passed in the first quarter of the year. According to the report, the combination of regulatory clarity and continued strength in US equity markets could push Bitcoin to new record highs in the first half of the year.

While this scenario is centered on Bitcoin, Standard Chartered believes it would also have positive spillover effects for Ethereum over the long term, given the close relationship between broader market performance and the development of digital asset infrastructure.