Standard Chartered: Ethereum spot ETF could still be approved in May, ETH could hit $8,000 by the end of the year

Standard Chartered Bank believes that the Ethereum spot ETF may still be approved on May 23, which could bring in as much as $45 billion in inflows within the first 12 months. Standard Chartered has also brought forward its target price for ETH to $8,000 by the end of 2024, with a target of $14,000 for 2025.

Standard Chartered Bank Optimistic about Approval of May Ethereum Spot ETF

According to a report by The Block, Geoffrey Kendrick, Head of Foreign Exchange and Cryptocurrency Research at Standard Chartered Bank, believes that the Ethereum spot ETF may still be approved on May 23, as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not classified ETH as a security in its legal battles against crypto companies. Additionally, the London Stock Exchange is set to accept applications for exchange-traded notes (ETNs) supported by BTC and ETH in the second quarter, further increasing the likelihood of SEC approval.

Kendrick also expects that the trend of Ether will be similar to Bitcoin, with ETH attracting a significant influx of funds.

We estimate that the approval of the spot ETF will bring in 2.39-9.15 million ETH in the first 12 months, equivalent to $15 billion to $45 billion.

ETH to Reach $8,000 by 2024, $14K by 2025

Standard Chartered Bank has brought forward its target price for ETH to $8,000 by the end of 2024, assuming the approval of the Ethereum spot ETF in May, and believes that the price of ETH will remain in sync with BTC, with the current 5.4% price ratio remaining unchanged in the remaining time of 2024.

• End of 2024: Bitcoin target price $150,000, Ether $8,000
• End of 2025: Bitcoin target price $200,000, Ether $14,000, with the price ratio of ETH to BTC returning to the 7% level seen in 2021-22

Standard Chartered Bank also estimates that the inflow of BTC and ETH will account for a similar percentage of the circulating tokens. BTC approximately 2.2-6.7%; while ETH, due to its higher volatility, ranges from 2.0-7.6%.

Upgrade of Ethereum's Dencun Makes It More Competitive

The report also mentions Ethereum's Dencun upgrade, with Kendrick stating that the Dencun upgrade significantly reduces transaction fees on Layer 2 and enhances Ethereum's competitiveness.

Kendrick also predicts that in the future, Ethereum's use cases will shift towards gaming and tokenization, increasing demand through existing NFT and DeFi channels. With Ethereum's offering of "concept verification," real-world industries can leverage Ethereum's advantages on-chain, and Standard Chartered Bank expects significant progress by 2025-2026.