Standard Chartered Slashes ETH Price Target While Betting Big on Crypto Trading

Traditional finance continues its crypto pivot. Standard Chartered just revised its medium-term Ether forecasts downward, cutting its end-2026 target from $12,000 to $7,500, and reducing the 2028 projection from $25,000 to $22,000. Yet paradoxically, the British multinational is simultaneously building out crypto infrastructure through early-stage discussions to launch a prime brokerage platform under its SC Ventures arm, Bloomberg revealed Monday.

The timing reveals an interesting dynamic in how legacy financial institutions approach digital assets—they’re simultaneously hedging their outlooks while doubling down on market access. Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, Geoff Kendrick, attributed the forecast cuts to “weaker-than-expected Bitcoin performance,” which continues to dominate sector movements. Despite the near-term pessimism, the bank maintained bullish longer-term views, raising its 2030 Ether target to $40,000 from $30,000.

The Broader Context: Wall Street’s Accelerating Crypto Adoption

Standard Chartered’s reported brokerage plans fit within a larger trend of institutional embrace. Morgan Stanley filed for an Ether ETF last week—its third crypto ETF filing—while Bank of America approved four spot Bitcoin ETFs for wealth adviser recommendations across its 15,000+ advisor network. These moves underscore how traditional finance is systematically embedding cryptocurrency options into standard investment workflows.

Where the Smart Money Stands

On-chain intelligence reveals mixed positioning. Large investors accumulated $16.5 million in Ether across 324 wallets during the prior week, doubling their accumulation pace from the week before, per crypto intelligence platform data. Meanwhile, the industry’s top-performing traders—classified as “smart money”—sold $7.13 million in spot ETH during the same period, suggesting divergent conviction levels.

Ether currently trades at $3.30K, having declined 17% over the past three months. Year-to-date, ETH shows modest gains of 2.27%, reflecting the broader sector volatility that prompted Standard Chartered’s revised forecasts. The disconnect between whale buying and smart money selling highlights the tension defining crypto markets as institutions simultaneously expand offerings and trim price expectations.