On October 11, Standard Chartered analysts predicted that Ethereum prices could hit $8,000 by the end of 2026.
Big Ethereum Price Prediction
Head of the bank’s digital assets research, Geoff Kendrick, said that as Ethereum becomes more widely used in smart contracts, gaming, and the tokenization of traditional assets, its price will surge.
Moreover, he didn’t stop there, predicting whopping gains in the long term, according to Reuters.
“We see the $8,000 level as a stepping stone to our long-term ‘structural’ valuation estimate of $26,000-$35,000,”
The analyst added that that structure stretches way into the future and as far ahead as 2040.
“That valuation assumes future use cases and revenue streams that may not have emerged yet, although the real-world use cases of gaming and tokenization should support their development.”
Looking at past cycle gains could give an indication of how high Ethereum may climb in the next cycle. Furthermore, since its launch in 2015, the asset has only been through two major market cycles.
In January 2017, ETH was trading at around $10. By January 2018, it had skyrocketed to $1,450, marking a gain of over 14,000%. In December 2018, it tanked to a bear market low of $85. From there, it surged to an all-time high of $4,878 in November 2021 — a gain of over 5,600%.
Its current cycle low was around $1,000 in June 2022. So, to hit the bank’s predicted price of $8,000 in the next bull market, Ethereum would only need to gain 700%.
It sounds very plausible when considering previous market cycles.
Furthermore, fundamentals such as deflationary issuance, staking, scaling upgrades, and institutional adoption all add to the long-term bullishness of the asset.
ETH Market Outlook
However, the big ETH price prediction seems extremely far-flung today when looking at its current market action.
ETH is trading flat on the day at $1,561 after falling around 5% over the past week.
ETH Price in USD 1 week. Source: BeInCrypto
Ethereum is currently hovering around support levels and its lowest price since it dumped in mid-March.
Moreover, the asset is now 68% down from its all-time high almost two years ago.