Standard Chartered keeps $40K ETH call despite sharp fall

Standard Chartered has kept its long-term Ethereum price forecast at US$40,000, even after ETH dropped sharply from its August 2025 high.

The bank said Ethereum’s weaker market price does not fully reflect the stronger activity taking place across its underlying network.

In a 28 May research note, Standard Chartered’s Global Research team said Ethereum’s transaction count and total value locked remain close to record levels when measured in ETH terms.

Geoff Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered Bank, said the market appears focused on Ethereum’s price decline while giving less attention to its network growth.

"Internal metrics for Ethereum (ETH) continue to improve … However, the ETH price continues to underperform in both absolute and relative terms – ETH-USD has fallen 57% from its August 2025 high,"

Geoff Kendrick said.

The bank compared Ethereum’s current position with Amazon after the dot-com crash, when the company’s share price fell heavily despite ongoing business progress.

Standard Chartered said that comparison suggests Ethereum may face a market pricing gap rather than a collapse in long-term demand.

The bank linked its bullish Ethereum view to the expected growth of stablecoins and tokenised real-world assets over the next several years.

Standard Chartered expects the stablecoin market to grow six times by the end of 2028, while tokenised real-world assets excluding stablecoins could grow by around 50 times.

The bank said Ethereum already plays a major role in both markets, with an estimated 50% to 65% share of stablecoins and tokenised real-world assets.

These sectors already account for more than half of the value locked on Ethereum, giving the network a strong position if more traditional finance activity moves on-chain.

Standard Chartered said Ethereum could benefit from a larger base of settlement activity if it keeps its current share as financial assets shift to blockchain networks.

The bank also expects the ETH-BTC ratio to rise to 0.08 by 2030, which would return it to levels last seen near the 2021 market peak.

Standard Chartered’s forecast puts Ethereum at US$10,000 in 2027, US$18,000 in 2028, US$28,000 in 2029, and US$40,000 in 2030.

The bank also expects bitcoin to rise from US$100,000 in 2026 to US$500,000 by 2030 under its long-term forecast.

"We reaffirm our ETH forecasts of USD 4,000 for end-2026 and USD 40,000 for end-2030,"

Geoff Kendrick noted.

Standard Chartered said its forecast depends on Ethereum’s network use remaining strong while stablecoins and tokenised assets continue expanding.

The bank’s position suggests Ethereum could outperform bitcoin over the period if the ETH-BTC ratio rises as projected.

At the time of reporting, Ethereum price was $2,031.14.