Standard Chartered Likens Ethereum to Amazon After Dot-Com Bust, Keeps $4,000 Year-End Target

Standard Chartered has maintained its forecast that Ether will reach $4,000 by the end of 2026.

The bank said in a report on May 28, as cited by The Block, that Ether's current price action resembles Amazon.com Inc.'s stock performance during the 2001 dot-com crash. Amazon shares have risen 1,000-fold from their 2001 low, and Standard Chartered wrote that it is only a matter of time before Ether catches up with its internal indicators.

Standard Chartered said Ethereum's internal metrics remain firm. It highlighted transaction counts on the Ethereum network and total value locked, or TVL, both of which are nearing record highs. Ether, by contrast, has fallen nearly 60% from its peak in August last year.

The bank said those positive indicators will ultimately drive gains in Ether and kept its year-end 2026 target at $4,000. It also projects Ether will reach $40,000 by the end of 2030.

A central part of that bullish view is growth in stablecoins and real-world assets, or RWA. Standard Chartered estimates stablecoin market capitalization will climb nearly sixfold, to $2 trillion by the end of 2028 from about $321 billion now. About 54% of all stablecoins are on the Ethereum network, meaning expansion in that market would likely benefit Ether.

Ethereum also accounts for about 62% of the global RWA market. Standard Chartered said that if the RWA market expands 50-fold over the next several years, as it expects, Ethereum's importance in the segment will increase sharply. In turn, transaction counts and TVL could continue setting records and lift Ether's price.