August 15, 2025

By Our Correspondent

On Wednesday, Standard Chartered increased its year-end prediction for ether from $4,000 to $7,500, noting an increase in cryptocurrency holdings in recent months and an improvement in industry involvement.
Ether’s more than 3-1/2-year high of $4,700 on Wednesday is over 60% behind the brokerage’s revised year-end estimate.

For investors seeking more active returns, the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world has emerged as the preferred token. Ether can be used in staking, a process where holders lock up their tokens to sustain the ethereum network in exchange for rewards, in contrast to bitcoin, which only depends on price appreciation.

With the passing of the Genius Act, a measure to provide a regulatory framework for dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies known as stablecoins, Ether has increased by more than 50% over the last four weeks. In the hopes that the law would result in more acceptability, the prices of other cryptocurrency assets also climbed.

Geoff Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, stated, “We project that the stablecoin sector will grow by around 8x by end-2028, which would have a significant direct impact on fees on the Ethereum network.”

Since the majority of stablecoins are issued and exchanged on the Ethereum blockchain, there is a greater need for ether to cover transaction costs.
According to Kendrick, utilizing Ethereum’s primary blockchain (Layer 1) for high-value transactions—particularly those connected to conventional finance—is essential to the cryptocurrency’s long-term viability. He also mentioned that a significant increase in Layer 1’s capacity will assist enable this.
The brokerage’s 2028 year-end ether prediction increased from $7,500 to $25,000.
Additionally, Kendrick believes that Ethereum treasury businesses might grow their Ethereum holdings to 10% of the total amount of Ethereum in circulation.