Ethereum’s long-term outlook has strengthened considerably, with Standard Chartered forecasting that ETH could reach $7,500 in 2026 and outperform Bitcoin over the coming cycle.
The bank’s analysis, highlighted by financial commentator Walter Bloomberg, highlights broader utility, institutional interest, and major network upgrades as key reasons behind the bullish stance.
Ethereum and Bitcoin 2026 Outlook
Standard Chartered believes Ethereum’s fundamentals have improved enough to support sustained outperformance versus Bitcoin, a development that could reshape institutional allocation strategies in the digital asset space.
ETH and BTC have often mirrored each other in price movements, but the bank’s outlook argues that structural differences in usage and growth drivers now favour the second-largest cryptocurrency by valuation.
Ethereum’s expanding role as the foundational layer for decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets is central to the bank’s thesis.
The network handles the majority of stablecoin transactions, a segment that saw massive activity in 2025, with roughly $8 trillion in stablecoins transfer volume recorded on Ethereum in Q4 alone, according to recent on-chain data.
Increasing Institutional Demand for ETH
Institutional demand for ETH has also risen, supported by the emergence of regulated products, treasury allocations, and growing participation from asset managers.
Standard Chartered’s forecast goes beyond 2026, with long-term projections placing Ethereum as high as $30,000 by 2029 and even $40,000 by 2030.
The bank suggests ETH may deliver 10x–12x returns over the long run based on current prices, outperforming Bitcoin’s projected 4x–5x gains over the same period.
Particularly, the bank’s outlook places BTC at a year-end target near $150,000, signaling continued confidence in its market role. Moreover, it expects Bitcoin’s price to reach $400,000 and $500,000 by 2029 and 2030, respectively.
The disparity in expected performance reflects differing roles within the crypto ecosystem. Bitcoin is widely regarded as “digital gold” and a store-of-value asset, while ETH has increasingly become a utility-driven settlement layer powering a wide array of financial applications.
Notably, crypto analysts note that this functional breadth gives ETH a broader foundation for growth, particularly as institutional and real-world use cases expand.
Read also: VanEck analyzes investment case for Ethereum, sets ETH 2030 price targets
Upcoming Network Upgrades Could Lead to More ETH Adoption
Ethereum’s upcoming network upgrades in 2026, including scaling enhancements aimed at boosting throughput and efficiency, could further reinforce its competitive edge.
Planned initiatives such as the adoption of zero-knowledge proofs and higher transaction throughput are expected to improve performance and appeal.
Notably, Ethereum is set to roll out two major upgrades this year, including Glamsterdam by mid-2026 and Heze-Bogota toward year-end.
Together, these upgrades could push Ethereum’s Layer 1 throughput to around 10,000 transactions per second, with gas limits possibly rising to 200 million per block. They are also designed to introduce a major scaling shift, as roughly 10% of validators may start validating zero-knowledge proofs rather than reprocessing transactions.
Read also: Binance Founder Says Bitcoin Could Hit $1M this cycle, Projects Crypto Market Cap to Reach $5T
However, the bank’s emphasis on Ethereum’s broader ecosystem strength, especially its dominance in DeFi and stablecoins, suggests that ETH may outperform BTC on a risk-adjusted basis.
While price targets remain forecasts and not guarantees, the narrative from one of the world’s major financial institutions underscores a growing belief that Ethereum is evolving beyond a pure smart-contract platform into a comprehensive financial infrastructure layer with deeper institutional utility than ever before.
At press time, BTC has retraced to $95,834 after hitting a two-month high and triggering nearly $700 million in liquidations in 24 hours. Meanwhile, ETH is holding strong at $3,297 despite the sizable outflows from ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in previous weeks.
