Standard Chartered: 2026 is the year of Ethereum; renews $100,000 bitcoin year-end target

Standard Chartered said in a new report that it believes 2026 will be "the year of Ethereum" and expects ether to outperform bitcoin, citing Ethereum's role in stablecoins, tokenized real world assets and decentralized finance. The bank reaffirmed its $100,000 year-end 2026 target for bitcoin, but cut its end 2026 ether target to $7,500 from $12,000, while raising its longer term outlook and lifting its end 2030 target to $40,000. The comments circulated on 19 and 20 July 2026. The crypto market matters to Iranian traders through tether and bitcoin.