The Price of Ethereum (ETH) Could Reach $8,000 by 2026, Says Standard Chartered Bank
Standard Chartered Bank predicts that the price of ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, could reach $8,000 by the end of 2026. Geoffrey Kendrick, head of forex and crypto research at Standard Chartered Bank, believes that Ethereum’s dominance in smart contract platforms and its emerging uses in gaming and tokenization will contribute to this increase. Kendrick states that these factors have the potential to push ETH to the $8,000 level, marking a fivefold increase from its current price.
According to Kendrick, the $8,000 mark is just the beginning, as Standard Chartered Bank’s long-term structural valuation range for ETH is between $26,000 and $35,000. Although this valuation assumes future use cases and revenue streams that may not have materialized yet, Kendrick asserts that real-world use cases in gaming and tokenization will support their development.
Ethereum’s Dominance and Layer 2 Scaling Networks
Standard Chartered Bank suggests that Ethereum’s dominance in the smart contract space will be further solidified with the growth of Ethereum Layer 2 scaling networks. These networks are expected to expand due to upcoming technical upgrades like proto-danksharding, which will help reduce transaction fees. The bank believes that these developments will increase Ethereum’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio over the next few years.
Kendrick also highlights the impact of the upcoming bitcoin halving in April 2024 on all digital assets, including ether. He predicts that potential regulation and spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States will benefit both ETH and BTC. Kendrick estimates that these factors could push the price of ether to $4,000 by the end of 2024, although this is still below its previous peak price of $4,866 in late 2021.
Hot Take: Ethereum’s Potential for Growth
Standard Chartered Bank’s forecast for the price of ether indicates significant potential for growth in the coming years. With Ethereum’s established dominance in smart contract platforms and its emerging uses in gaming and tokenization, the bank predicts that ETH could reach $8,000 by the end of 2026. Furthermore, the upcoming technical upgrades and the impact of the bitcoin halving are expected to further support Ethereum’s growth. While these projections are based on assumptions and factors that may evolve over time, they demonstrate the increasing confidence in Ethereum’s long-term prospects.
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