Ether Could Hit $8K by End of 2026: Standard Chartered.

Standard Chartered predicts a significant price projection for Ether (ETH), the cryptocurrency native to the Ethereum blockchain, underlining the British multinational bank’s bold forecast. According to a recent report by the bank, ETH could soar to $8,000 by the end of 2026, marking a five-fold increase from its current price of around $1,600.

The report highlights Ethereum’s dominance in smart contract platforms as a key driver for future growth. Additionally, the bank believes that emerging use cases in gaming and tokenization will contribute to the significant demand for Ether. While non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized finance (DeFi) currently dominate Ethereum’s use cases, real-world adoption in gaming and tokenization is expected to propel its value further.

Standard Chartered also anticipates a surge in Ethereum Layer 2 scaling networks due to imminent technical improvements, including proto-danksharding, which will reduce transaction fees on these networks. These advancements are expected to solidify Ethereum’s position in the smart contract space and increase its price-to-earnings ratio over the next few years.

The report also mentions the upcoming Bitcoin halving event, set to occur in April 2024, as a potential catalyst for Ether’s price surge. As the mining reward for Bitcoin is halved, it is expected to benefit cryptocurrencies, particularly Ether. The bank suggests that potential regulation and the introduction of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States could further boost ETH’s price, reaching $4,000 by the end of next year.

Looking further into the future, the bank sees the $8,000 target as an initial milestone toward its long-term structural valuation goal of $26,000 to $35,000 for Ether.

Standard Chartered’s optimistic forecast for Ether‘s price reflects the growing recognition and adoption of the Ethereum blockchain in various industries. As Ethereum expands its use cases beyond NFTs and DeFi, it is expected to attract more investors and increase its value.