The analysts at Standard Chartered are fearless: setting a new target for Ethereum (ETH) at $7,500 by December 2025, up from the previous $4,000. Long-term, they aim for $25,000 by 2028, more than triple their previous forecast. Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital asset research, believes ETH’s environment has ‘significantly improved’ in recent months.
Standard Chartered raises its forecasts for ETH
Since June, publicly traded companies and spot ETFs have absorbed about 3.8% of the total circulating ETH supply. This is almost twice as fast as the pace observed on Bitcoin during comparable purchases. Companies like Bitmine Immersion and SharpLink Gaming alone have acquired nearly 2.3 million ETH, about 1.9% of the supply, in two and a half months. Spot ETFs handle the rest. As a result, ETH outperforms BTC in 2025, with a 41% increase since January compared to the 29% for the market leader.
The stablecoins, a growth engine
The other catalyst comes from Washington. The GENIUS Act, signed in July by Donald Trump, finally establishes a federal framework for stablecoins. More than half of stablecoins circulate on Ethereum, which already captures about 40% of blockchain fees through these assets. Standard Chartered anticipates a stablecoin market of $2 trillion by 2028. As a direct result, more revenues for Ethereum and a DeFi activity boom, where it already holds about 65% of the total locked value. Today, stablecoins pegged to the dollar on Ethereum already weigh more than $131 billion, in a global market of over $260 billion.
An accelerating technical roadmap
On the technological front, the Ethereum Foundation and its contributors are intensifying their efforts. The goal: increase Layer 1 capacity to handle high-value transactions, while delegating massive flows to Layer 2 solutions like Base or Arbitrum. This hybrid architecture aims to solidify ETH’s blockchain position as a global financial infrastructure, capable of handling real-world volumes without sacrificing security.
An ambitious long-term vision
The bank remains faithful to its ‘thesis’ on crypto treasuries: the integration of ETH into company balance sheets, combined with the rise of institutional products and improved regulatory clarity, makes the asset ‘highly investable’ for traditional managers. Beyond 2025, Standard Chartered forecasts ETH at $12,000 by the end of 2026, $18,000 in 2027, and $25,000 by 2028-2029. In comparison, their Bitcoin projections remain at $200,000 for 2025 and $500,000 for 2028-2029.
The equation is simple: if demand from treasuries and ETFs continues at this pace, the supply of ETH could remain under pressure… and the market could see the realization of price levels that some thought impossible sooner than expected.
