Standard Chartered Ethereum says metrics support ETH price rebound.

TLDR

Standard Chartered says Ethereum's weak price does not correlate with strong network activity. Jeffrey Kendrick compared Ethereum's current setup to Amazon after the 2001 tech crash. Kendrick said Ethereum transaction numbers and TVL remain close to record highs in ETH terms. Standard Chartered has set its Ether target at $4,000 for 2026 and $40,000 for 2030. Kendrick said stablecoins and real-world assets could support more Ethereum activity.

Ether's peak price is down from last year's highs, but has received fresh bullish support from Standard Chartered.

Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, said Ethereum's market cap has been driven by its onchain strength. In Thursday's report, Kendrick compared Ether's current setup to Amazon's during the 2001 dotcom crash.

Kendrick referenced Jeff Bezos' past comments about Amazon's stock slumping after the tech bubble burst. Bezos said Amazon's stock had fallen sharply as the company's internal business metrics continued to improve.

According to Kendrick, Ethereum now faces a similar gap between value and network activity. ETH is said to have fallen 57% from its August 2025 high of nearly $2,000. In addition, the ETH-Bitcoin ratio has decreased by about 37% in the same period.

Standard Chartered looks at strong Ethereum benchmarks

Kendrick said Ethereum transaction counts and the total value locked in ETH contracts are nearing record highs. He argued that even though Ether was trading below recent highs, these figures showed strong network usage.

The Standard Chartered analyst kept his long-term Ether target unchanged. Kendrick expects ETH to reach $4,000 by the end of 2026. He also reiterated his prediction that ETH could rise to $40,000 by the end of 2030.

In the same report, Kendrick predicted that the ETH-Bitcoin ratio could return to the 2021 high of 0.08 by the end of the decade. He linked that vision to Ethereum's role in stablecoins, tokenized assets and decentralized finance.

Stablecoins remain central to the bullish case.

Kendrick says a stable coin is a key part of Ethereum's long-term value case. He estimated that the stablecoin market could expand to $2 trillion by the end of 2028. The market is currently close to $321 billion, he said.

According to Kendrick, Ethereum hosts 54% of all stablecoins. He also said that by 2026, around one-third of Ethereum transactions year-to-date will involve stablecoins. In addition, they account for 60% of the total TVL stable coin on the network.

Kendrick expects stable coin growth to bring more activity to Ethereum. This could support a higher ETH price over time, he said.

Standard Chartered points to the simulation of real-world assets as another key factor. Kendrick reiterated his forecast that unsustainable RWAs could grow 50 times to $2 trillion by 2028.

According to Kendrick, Ethereum currently hosts about 62 percent of RWAs. He also said that Ethereum supports 68% active on-chain lending.

Kendrick said this sector could further boost Ethereum's transaction numbers and TVL. RWA expects those metrics to continue setting records if adoption grows as forecast.

Regulation and network design can support mobility.

Kendrick also highlighted the proposed Ethereum Economic Zone. He said that EEZ can help the assets to move easily in the Ethereum ecosystem.

According to Kendrick, the system could reduce reliance on blockchain bridges. Threats related to bridges are important because hackers often target them.

On regulation, Kendrick pointed to America's progress around the Clarity Act. Clear digital asset regulations could help decentralized finance and the Ethereum movement grow, he said.