Summary:
Standard Chartered forecasts a $10 trillion market cap for crypto by 2026.
Bitcoin predicted to reach $200,000 and Ethereum over $10,000.
Donald Trump's victory may lead to favorable regulatory changes for crypto.
Bitcoin's dominance in the market expected to drop from 60% to 40%.
Solana anticipated to outperform both BTC and ETH.
Standard Chartered's Optimistic Outlook on Crypto
Standard Chartered has issued a remarkably optimistic forecast for the crypto industry, suggesting that the market capitalization of digital assets could quadruple to $10 trillion by the end of 2026.
"We expect the coming two-year period to see similar price gains for digital assets (in percentage terms) to 2021," the British bank stated in a note shared with Decrypt. They anticipate that existing digital assets will experience price surges and that new subsectors will emerge, particularly as real-world use cases begin to go mainstream.
Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Predictions
According to the bank's previous estimates, Bitcoin is expected to reach $200,000 and Ethereum to surpass $10,000 by the end of next year—significant increases from their current prices of approximately $76,500 and $2,950, respectively.
The Role of Trump's Election
Much of this optimism is linked to Donald Trump’s decisive victory in the recent U.S. presidential election. Trump, who has made numerous crypto commitments, is likely to enact policies that could positively influence cryptocurrency prices. Standard Chartered believes that Trump and his congressional allies will implement measures that could lead to a surge in cryptocurrency values.
Regulatory Changes Expected
Anticipated changes include the repeal of SAB 121, which discourages banks from custodying crypto; stablecoin legislation; a potential end to the SEC’s crypto crackdown; and possibly creating a strategic U.S. government Bitcoin reserve—though the bank considers this last point to have a low probability.
"The new U.S. administration is likely to bring regulatory changes that are needed to drive the next leg of growth in digital assets," Standard Chartered said.
Shift in Crypto Market Dynamics
The bank predicts that despite Bitcoin's anticipated price increase, its dominance in the market will decrease from 60% to 40% by 2026. This shift will be driven by the rise of altcoins, which are expected to gain traction through real-world applications.
"Digital assets that are more exposed to end uses are likely to benefit more," the bank noted. They specifically predict that Solana will outperform both BTC and ETH.
Future Use Cases
Standard Chartered is betting on several use cases to drive the growth of altcoins, including:
- Growth in gaming
- Development of decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN)
- Innovations in on-chain consumer social products.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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