Standard Chartered slashed its 2026 Ethereum (ETH) price target by 47% to $4,000, yet kept its long-term forecast untouched at $40,000 for 2030, implying more than 20x upside even as ETH traded below $1,800.
The bank framed the steep cut as a cyclical setback rather than a broken thesis. It still expects ETH to recover after a possible capitulation low near $1,400.
A Near-Term Cut, A Long-Term Hold
Standard Chartered now sees ETH ending 2026 at $4,000, down from an earlier $7,500 call. The revision marks a drop of nearly 47%.
The cut did not arrive in isolation. The bank also trimmed its end-2026 Bitcoin (BTC) target to $100,000, pointing to a house-wide repricing rather than an ETH-specific retreat.
Ether changed hands around $1,745 at the time of writing, down more than 7% on the day. The token has slipped below the $1,800 support that held through earlier dips, part of a broad crypto market selloff.
Even so, the bank kept its longer path intact. It still models ETH reaching $40,000 by 2030, with interim targets unchanged.
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Why the Long-Term Call Survived
Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s Global Head of Digital Assets Research, leads the team behind the note. He has held the line on the bank’s earlier 20x projection even as price fell.
His case rests on network usage. Transaction counts and total value locked sit near record highs in ETH terms, though the token trades about 65% below its August 2025 peak of $4,946.
Kendrick compares the slump to Amazon’s 2001 crash, when the stock collapsed while the underlying business kept strengthening.
“I view ETH’s performance very much as Jeff Bezos described AMZN share price during the 2001 tech bubble burst.”
He treats the current drawdown as a washout, not a structural failure.
Outflows and Bears Test the Floor
Meanwhile, selling pressure has not eased. US spot Ethereum ETFs posted a daily net outflow of about $52.94 million, with total net assets near $9.96 billion, extending ongoing Ethereum ETF outflows.
Standard Chartered ties an ETH bottom near $1,400 to a deeper Bitcoin capitulation toward $50,000. That scenario clouds the near-term ETH price outlook.
Still, crowded short positioning leaves room for a sharp reversal. A potential short squeeze setup could form if ETH reclaims lost ground.
The gap between a halved near-term target and an unchanged long-term call now defines the trade.
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