Standard Chartered believes that the crypto industry market will increase nearly four times to a market capitalization of $10 trillion by the end of 2026. They suggest that both existing digital assets and new subsectors will see price rises, with real-world use cases likely to become mainstream. The bank also predicts that by the end of next year, Bitcoin will reach $200,000 and Ethereum will surpass $10,000.
Standard Chartered’s optimism is due to the expected implementation of several measures by the U.S. government under President Trump, such as repealing SAB 121, passing stablecoin legislation, dissolving the SEC’s crypto crackdown, and possibly creating a strategic U.S. government Bitcoin reserve. Standard Chartered also expects the dominance of Bitcoin in the crypto industry to decrease from its current 60% valuation to 40% by the end of 2026, driven by the rise of altcoins with real-world applications.
They predict Solana will outperform both Bitcoin and Ethereum. The bank sees several use cases driving the trend for altcoins in the near future, including growth in gaming, decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN), and on-chain consumer social products.