Standard Chartered has reaffirmed its bullish outlook for Ether, arguing that Ethereum’s network remains strong even as ETH trades well below its 2025 highs and investor demand shows signs of weakness.
In a report released Thursday, the bank said Ethereum’s key network metrics, including transaction activity and value locked on the blockchain, remain near record levels despite ETH falling about 57% from its August 2025 peak above $4,800. Ether was trading below $2,000 at the time of writing.
Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, maintained the bank’s long-term price targets of $4,000 for ETH by the end of 2026 and $40,000 by 2030. The forecast assumes Ethereum will regain strength against Bitcoin and return to levels last seen during the 2021 bull market.
The report comes as investors continue to debate whether Ethereum’s leading role in stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets will eventually boost the value of ETH, despite ongoing ETF outflows and weak price performance.
Kendrick compared Ethereum’s current situation to Amazon during the dot-com crash, saying the company’s fundamentals remained strong even while its stock price declined sharply.
Analysts say Ethereum’s challenge is not network growth but converting that growth into value for ETH holders. Max Shannon, senior research associate at Bitwise Europe, said Ethereum has struggled with a lack of a clear market narrative and limited value capture from low-cost transactions on Layer-1 and Layer-2 networks.
Standard Chartered highlighted Ethereum’s dominance as the main settlement layer for stablecoins and tokenized assets. The bank expects the stablecoin market to grow to around $2 trillion by 2028, while tokenized non-stablecoin assets could expand to a similar size. Ethereum currently hosts roughly half to two-thirds of both markets.
Still, market signals remain mixed. While some large investors continue to accumulate ETH and bet on long-term growth, US spot Ether ETFs have recorded persistent outflows. Data from Farside Investors shows ETH ETFs posted net withdrawals for 11 consecutive trading days through May 27.
Justin d’Anethan, head of research at Arctic Digital, said the bank’s confidence is notable given the current market mood. However, he noted that crypto markets often prioritize price momentum over fundamentals.
Shannon added that Bitcoin continues to drive most of Ethereum’s price movements, with broader macro trends and onchain activity playing a smaller role than in previous cycles.
For now, Standard Chartered remains confident that Ethereum’s strong network fundamentals will eventually be reflected in its market value, even if investors have yet to fully buy into that story.
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