Standard Chartered Predicts $500K Bitcoin and $40K Ethereum by 2030

A Standard Chartered analyst has laid out one of the most bullish long-term forecasts yet for Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The projection suggests BTC and ETH could reach astronomical highs by the end of the decade. In particular, Geoff Kendrick, the bank’s Global Head of Digital Assets Research, outlined a base case in which Bitcoin hits $500,000, and Ethereum climbs to $40,000 by 2030.

Key Points

Ethereum to Deliver 20x Upside

In a recent podcast with John Gillen, host of Milk Road, Kendrick projects a roughly 20x increase in Ethereum from current levels. He positioned it as a stronger relative performer than Bitcoin over the same period.

He pointed to the ETH/BTC ratio, currently around 0.03, as a key indicator. According to his outlook, that ratio could rise to 0.04 in the near term. This suggests Ethereum will gain value faster than Bitcoin.

Using a simplified scenario, Kendrick noted that if Bitcoin reclaims $100,000 by the end of 2026, Ethereum could trade near $4,000.

For context, Bitcoin is trading at $66,400, while Ethereum is at $2,036. Kendrick’s year-end target implies gains of 50% and 96% for BTC and ETH, respectively.

As the year progresses, the analyst expects the gap in gains to widen further. In other words, his outlook highlights Ethereum’s steady outperformance relative to Bitcoin over the decade.

Specifically, while Ethereum reaching $40,000 by 2030 represents a 20x increase, Bitcoin’s $500,000 price over the same period amounts to roughly 7.5x gains.

Global Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered:

“I’ve got $500K Bitcoin by 2030 and $40K Ethereum by 2030 – a massive outperformance.”

That’s ~20x on $ETH from here. pic.twitter.com/p7dFwPrTzG

— Milk Road (@MilkRoad) April 1, 2026

TradFi Could Drive Ethereum’s Growth

A major pillar behind the bullish Ethereum thesis is increasing adoption by traditional finance institutions.

Kendrick explained that banks and large financial players tend to prioritize security and reliability when building blockchain-based products. Because Ethereum’s base layer has a long track record of stability, it often becomes the default starting point for institutional development.

He highlighted how asset managers like BlackRock initially deploy products on Ethereum before expanding to other networks. This “Ethereum-first” approach, he suggests, will likely shape how the financial industry adopts blockchain technology in the coming years.

Network Activity Key to Price Growth

Another core part of Kendrick’s analysis focuses on network usage. He emphasized that rising activity, measured through fees paid on Ethereum applications and protocols, tends to correlate with higher token valuations.

As more use cases, such as stablecoins, decentralized finance, and tokenized real-world assets, continue to grow on Ethereum, this increased demand could translate directly into price appreciation.

First-Mover Advantage in Blockchain Adoption

Kendrick ultimately believes Ethereum’s biggest strength lies in its position as the primary hub for early-stage innovation in crypto.

While he acknowledged that activity could eventually spread to other blockchains, he expects the “first phase” of institutional and real-world adoption to occur largely on Ethereum. That early dominance, combined with growing ecosystem usage, forms the basis for his long-term outperformance thesis.

With Bitcoin still expected to lead in absolute value, the forecast suggests Ethereum could quietly deliver even stronger returns.