Standard Chartered has reaffirmed its long-term Ethereum price targets, keeping ETH at $4,000 by the end of 2026 and $40,000 by the end of 2030 despite the token’s sharp pullback below the $2,000 area.
The bank’s latest view, led by digital assets research head Geoff Kendrick, argues that Ethereum’s price has fallen out of line with the network’s underlying activity. ETH has dropped heavily from its 2025 peak, while transaction activity, total value locked measured in ETH terms, stablecoin settlement, and tokenized asset demand remain central to the bank’s long-term thesis.
The comparison is deliberately ambitious. Kendrick likened Ethereum’s current setup to Amazon after the dot-com crash, when the company’s stock collapsed but its internal business metrics continued to improve. The argument is not that ETH will repeat Amazon’s exact path, but that market price and network fundamentals can diverge sharply before investors reprice the asset.
The Amazon Comparison Gives ETH Bulls A New Narrative
The Amazon analogy matters because Ethereum’s main problem has been narrative, not only price. Bitcoin has dominated the institutional story through ETFs, treasury adoption, and its role as the market’s cleanest monetary asset. Ethereum has struggled to convert its stablecoin, DeFi, and tokenization activity into stronger token performance.
Standard Chartered’s view gives ETH bulls a different frame. Ethereum may not be trading like the main settlement layer for stablecoins and tokenized assets today, but the bank expects that role to matter more as onchain finance grows. That is why the $40,000 target depends less on short-term momentum and more on whether Ethereum can keep a large share of settlement activity as stablecoins and RWAs expand.
That thesis also fits the broader debate around whether Ethereum can finally regain ground against Bitcoin. Recent CryptoAdventure coverage on the Ethereum price outlook for summer 2026 already showed how ETH’s bull case depends on institutional demand, stronger ETF flows, and renewed confidence that Ethereum can capture the next wave of onchain settlement.
ETH/BTC Ratio Is The Key Number
Standard Chartered’s $40,000 target also depends on ETH recovering against Bitcoin. The bank expects the ETH/BTC ratio to return toward its 2021 highs near 0.08 by the end of the decade. At current levels, the ratio is much lower, showing how far Ethereum has underperformed the market’s largest crypto asset.
That ratio is the cleanest way to measure whether Ethereum is actually catching up. A move toward 0.08 would mean ETH is not just rising because Bitcoin is pulling the whole market higher. It would mean Ethereum is gaining relative strength, attracting more capital, and convincing investors that its network activity deserves a larger valuation.
For now, that has not happened. ETH has remained under pressure alongside the broader market, and spot ETF demand has been inconsistent. U.S. spot crypto ETFs recently suffered another heavy redemption session, with Bitcoin and Ethereum funds losing $800.5 million in a single day as institutional risk appetite weakened.
Stablecoins And Tokenization Stay At The Center
The bank’s long-term case rests heavily on Ethereum’s role in stablecoins and tokenized assets. Stablecoins remain one of crypto’s most active real-world use cases, while tokenized Treasury products, funds, credit instruments, and other RWAs continue to pull traditional finance closer to blockchain settlement.
Ethereum still carries a major share of that activity, even as cheaper chains and Layer 2 networks compete for users. That creates a tension for ETH pricing. If activity moves to low-fee environments without enough value returning to ETH, the network can grow while the token underperforms. If higher-value settlement, institutional transactions, staking demand, and fee capture strengthen, ETH has a clearer path to revaluation.
That is why Standard Chartered’s forecast is more than a simple price call. It is a bet that Ethereum will remain one of the core settlement layers for onchain finance and that the market will eventually price ETH closer to that role.
The Short-Term Setup Is Still Fragile
The bullish target does not remove near-term risk. ETH recently traded around the $2,000 zone, leaving the $4,000 year-end 2026 target almost a double from current levels and the $40,000 2030 target close to a 20x move. Those numbers require a major shift in flows, sentiment, and relative strength.
Retail dip-buying can help stabilize markets, but it can also arrive too early during a deeper drawdown. Derivatives positioning, ETF flows, and spot demand will matter more than optimistic price targets if ETH fails to reclaim stronger resistance levels.
Whale accumulation has offered some support in recent weeks, with large holders adding ETH while the market waited for a stronger breakout trigger. That demand signal is useful, but Ethereum still needs confirmation through price action, ETF inflows, and a stronger ETH/BTC recovery.
Standard Chartered’s call puts a clear marker on the chart: $4,000 by the end of 2026 and $40,000 by the end of 2030. ETH is still trading far below both levels, leaving the market to decide whether Ethereum’s current weakness is a broken thesis or a delayed repricing of the network’s role in stablecoins, tokenized assets, and institutional settlement.
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