By the end of 2026, the rate of the second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization could increase fivefold – to $8,000, suggested Jeffrey Kendrick, head of research at Standard Chartered. Reuters reports this.
According to the report, Ethereum is gaining popularity due to its widespread use in various ecosystems, smart contracts, games and tokenization of traditional assets.
“We view the $8,000 level as a stepping stone to our long-term “structural” value estimate of $26,000-$35,000,” the analyst emphasized.
The latest forecast lasts until 2040 and assumes the further development of Ethereum, as well as the emergence of new ways to use the blockchain, Kendrick said.
Standard Chartered also predicts the active development of second-tier solutions. This will be facilitated by upcoming Ethereum updates like proto-danksharding (EIP-4844), which reduce fees.
According to the expert, the growth of the ecosystem itself “will help cement Ethereum’s dominance in the smart contract space, increasing its price-to-earnings ratio over the next few years.”
Kendrick noted that the upcoming Bitcoin halving in April 2024 will help other digital assets, especially its closest competitor.
“Subsequently, potential regulation and spot ETF in the US should benefit Ethereum and the first cryptocurrency. We predict their adoption after the elections,” the analyst added.
All of the above factors could potentially push ETH to $4,000 by the end of 2024. Notably, this short-term forecast is below the asset’s peak price of $4,868 reached in November 2021.
At the time of writing, the coin is trading at $1,570, having lost 5.2% over the past week. Quotes fell amid the sale of part of the assets owned by the Ethereum Foundation.
ETH has a market capitalization of $189.1 billion with a daily trading volume of $8.6 billion.
Let us remind you that the recent launch of ETH futures based on Ethereum passed without any hype. In the first 15 minutes of the session, trading volume on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange did not exceed $2 million.
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