Overview
- Standard Chartered reaffirmed its forecasts in a Thursday research note, keeping targets of $4,000 by end‑2026 and $40,000 by end‑2030 based on network use and tokenization assumptions.
- Ether has slid to roughly $2,000, about 60% below its August 2025 peak, leaving price and on‑chain fundamentals sharply out of step.
- On‑chain data show strong usage with more than 200 million transactions in Q1 2026 and $43–$45 billion of value locked in DeFi, figures the bank says underpin long‑term demand for ETH.
- Derivatives and flows raise near‑term danger: futures open interest hit record levels around 16.39 million ETH, funding rates are positive, and U.S. spot ETH ETFs have registered consecutive net outflows totaling about $695 million, leaving key technical supports near $1,800–$1,560 vulnerable.
- Standard Chartered’s upside case depends on big growth in stablecoins and tokenized real‑world assets, Ethereum keeping a dominant share, and clearer regulation, while traders should watch leverage, ETF flows and support levels for signs of a sharp move either way.