Standard Chartered: “Ethereum’s year-end target price is $7,500”

Fundstrat’s Tom Lee: “Many targets are in the $10,000~$15,000 range”

Staking functionality and blockchain system for stablecoin issuance

Ethereum’s target price has been rising steadily.

According to Reuters on the 13th (local time), Standard Chartered raised Ethereum’s year-end target price from $4,000 to $7,500.

On this day, Ethereum was trading at around $4,700 in the US market. This represents the highest level in three and a half years. $7,500 indicates a premium of about 60% over the current price.

Geoff Kendrick, Head of Digital Asset Research at Standard Chartered, said, “The stablecoin sector is expected to grow about eightfold by the end of 2028, which will also significantly increase fees on the Ethereum network.”

Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, has emerged as the most favored token recently. Over just the past four weeks, it has surged by more than 50%.

According to CNBC, as of this week, capital inflows into Ethereum ETFs have reached $1.5 billion, far surpassing the $244 million that flowed into Bitcoin ETFs. Ethereum ETF inflows have outpaced Bitcoin ETF inflows for four consecutive weeks. Prior to this summer, trading in Ethereum ETFs was almost non-existent during their first year.

Unlike Bitcoin, which relies only on price increases, Ethereum can also be used via staking. Staking is a method by which holders deposit tokens to support the Ethereum network and receive rewards.

In addition, there is a significant effect from the passage of the Genius Act, a law that established a regulatory framework for dollar-pegged stablecoins.

Most stablecoins are issued and traded on the underlying Ethereum blockchain. Consequently, demand for Ether is increasing because it is required to pay transaction fees.

Kendrick added that Ethereum’s long-term growth depends on high-value transactions, especially the use of blockchain in traditional financial dealings, and that the Layer 1 capacity of blockchain will need to be greatly increased for this to happen.

Layer 1 of a blockchain refers to the base protocol and core infrastructure of the blockchain network, handling transaction processing and validation, consensus mechanisms among participants, and security.

Standard Chartered also raised its Ether price prediction for the end of 2028 from $7,500 to $25,000.

Kendrick further predicted that Ethereum treasury companies looking to hold Ether on their balance sheets might increase their token holdings to as much as 10% of all circulating Ether.

Meanwhile, Fundstrat strategist Tom Lee also said in an interview with CNBC on this day that Ethereum is likely to strengthen further, driven by the Federal Reserve Board’s potential interest rate cuts. Tom Lee argued that Standard Chartered Bank’s prediction of $7,500 for Ethereum’s end-of-year price is rather conservative and suggested there is potential for a higher increase.

He said, “$7,500 could be the lowest feasible amount,” and noted, “Many market targets are in the $10,000 to $15,000 range.”

He stated, “Wall Street needs to find stable and legitimate blockchains, and is financializing the system through Ethereum,” therefore expecting demand to rise.

Tom Lee is also the chairman of Bitmine Immersion Technology. Bitmine already holds Ethereum worth $5 billion (around 7 trillion won).

Byung Kim, Contributing Reporter kja@hankyung.com