Standard Chartered Bank: Ethereum right now is like Amazon in 2001! With an outlook of up to $4,000 for ETH by the end of the year, and a surge to $40,000 by 2030.

Ethereum Falls to $2,000, but Institutions Are Calling for a $40,000 Upside? Standard Chartered Bank Released Its Latest Report Today (28th), Comparing Current Ethereum to Amazon During the 2001 Internet Bubble Burst. Analysts Point Out That Although ETH Seems to Be Drifting Lower on the surface, internal health indicators such as network transaction volume and TVL are continuing to hit new highs. Benefiting from strong growth in the RWA and stablecoin sectors, Standard Chartered boldly predicts that ETH will rebound to $4,000 by the end of 2026 and then surge to $40,000 by 2030.
(Background: Ethereum Drops Below $2,000 for the First Time This Year! Futures OI Shows Bears Are Increasing Their Positions)
(Additional context: Ethereum’s weakness—Vitalik turns to writing novels; ETH plunges as personnel leave)

Table of Contents

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• Replaying the Amazon miracle: a severe disconnect between internal indicators and price
• Three major core catalysts behind Standard Chartered’s bullish outlook for Ethereum
  • 1. Explosive growth in the stablecoin sector
  • 2. RWA (tokenized real-world assets) holds absolute dominance
  • 3. Technological upgrades and regulatory clarity

As the cryptocurrency market continues to churn and the price of Ether (ETH) remains sluggish, multinational financial giant Standard Chartered Bank has put out an extremely optimistic bullish report.

According to a report by The Block today (May 28, 2026), Geoffrey Kendrick, Head of Global Digital Asset Research at Standard Chartered, made a deep analogy in the latest report—comparing Ethereum’s current situation with Amazon, the technology giant, during the dot-com bubble burst in 2001.

Replaying the Amazon miracle: a severe disconnect between internal indicators and price

Since the peak in August 2025, ETH’s price has corrected by about 57%, and it is currently hovering around $2,000; meanwhile, the ETH/BTC exchange-rate ratio has fallen by about 37% as well. However, Kendrick notes that this weakness in price completely masks the strong fundamental growth of Ethereum.

He cites a classic speech by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2018 to describe Ethereum’s current state:

“Stocks aren’t companies, and companies aren’t stocks. When I saw the stock price fall from $113 to $6, I saw all our internal business indicators… Everything in the company is getting better. Although the stock price is going the wrong way, everything inside the company is going the right way.”

Kendrick emphasizes that Ethereum’s transaction volume and the total value locked (TVL) denominated in ETH still remain close to all-time highs. Historical data shows that Amazon’s stock price—after adjusting for stock splits—from its low point in 2001 to today has surged by more than 1000 times. Standard Chartered firmly believes that it is only a matter of time before the price of Ether catches up with its internal fundamental indicators.

Three major core catalysts behind Standard Chartered’s bullish outlook for Ethereum

Based on the ongoing improvement in internal indicators, Standard Chartered has reiterated its astonishing price target for Ether: $4,000 by the end of 2026, and over $40,000 by the end of 2030. The report lists three key factors driving this long-term rally:

1. Explosive growth in the stablecoin sector

The current total market capitalization of stablecoins is about $321 billion. Standard Chartered expects this market to grow 6-fold by the end of 2028, reaching an astonishing $2 trillion. Currently, more than 54% of stablecoin issuance is on the Ethereum network, contributing nearly one-third of ETH’s transaction volume this year and 60% of TVL, which will provide huge value-capture opportunities for ETH.

2. RWA (tokenized real-world assets) holds absolute dominance

In addition to stablecoins, the RWA market is also expected to break out with 50-fold growth by the end of 2028, reaching $2 trillion. Ethereum currently occupies absolute dominance in this space, accounting for 62% of RWA assets and 68% of active on-chain loans. As media and institutional assets move on-chain, it will significantly boost Ethereum’s network usage.

3. Technological upgrades and regulatory clarity

In terms of ecosystem development, the upcoming Ethereum Economic Zone (EEZ) will further enhance composability across protocols, allowing assets to flow more freely within the ecosystem and reducing the risk of over-reliance on cross-chain bridges. In addition, the Clarity Act (Crypto Market Structure Bill) being advanced in the United States is expected to provide a clearer regulatory framework for DeFi, paving the way for institutions to enter at scale.

Standard Chartered’s conclusion is very clear: short-term pessimism in the market should not obscure the fact that Ethereum, as Web3 infrastructure, continues to expand. Investors who steadfastly position themselves when “the stock price is going in the wrong direction, but internal developments are going in the right direction” may see the next Amazon-level returns.