Standard Chartered Predicts Ethereum to Hit $7,500 by Year-End on Institutional Surge
Ethereum’s bull run is just getting started. Standard Chartered has raised its year-end price target to $7,500, driven by a surge in institutional accumulation and treasury company adoption. With SharpLink Gaming, BitMine Immersion
Ethereum’s Institutional Moment: $7,500 Target by Year-End
The bulls are back—and they’re wearing suits.
Standard Chartered, one of the world’s leading financial institutions, has doubled down on Ethereum, forecasting a surge to $7,500 by December 2025. This bold prediction, led by Geoffrey Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Assets Strategy, is based on one undeniable trend: corporations are loading up on ETH like never before.
This isn’t retail speculation.
It’s strategic treasury allocation—and it’s changing Ethereum’s trajectory.
Treasury Companies Lead the Charge
A new class of investor is fueling Ethereum’s rally: public companies turning ETH into a treasury reserve asset.
Two names stand out:
🔹 SharpLink Gaming (SBET)
- Recently added 56,533 ETH (~$250M+) in a single week
- Now holds over $3.6B in Ethereum reserves
- Using ETH for balance sheet strength and yield via staking
🔹 BitMine Immersion
- A leader in immersion cooling for crypto infrastructure
- Aggressively accumulating ETH as a long-term store of value
- Part of a growing wave of firms treating ETH like “digital energy” and financial insulation
These companies aren’t just investing in blockchain.
They’re staking ETH, earning yield, and signaling long-term confidence in the network.
As Kendrick noted:
“ETH and the ETH treasury companies are cheap at today’s levels.”
Spot ETFs Fuel the Fire: $444M in Inflows
The institutional wave isn’t just coming from corporate treasuries.
Spot Ethereum ETFs have seen $444 million in net inflows recently—proving that Wall Street is shifting from BTC to ETH.
Why?
- Higher staking yields (3–6% APY) vs. Bitcoin’s 0%
- RWA tokenization and DeFi integration
- Lower energy use and stronger governance
With BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, and VanEck all offering ETH ETFs, demand is structural, not speculative.
Ethereum Outpaces Bitcoin in 2025
While Bitcoin remains dominant, Ethereum is outperforming in key areas:
| Metric | Ethereum (ETH) | Bitcoin (BTC) |
|---|---|---|
| YTD Price Growth | +92% | +68% |
| Staking Market Cap | $50B+ | $0 (no staking) |
| DeFi TVL | $90B+ | $1.2B |
| Institutional Use Cases | RWA, AI, Oracles, L2s | Store of value |
Ethereum isn’t just a currency.
It’s programmable money—and institutions are noticing.
Why $7,500 Is Within Reach
Standard Chartered’s $7,500 forecast isn’t fantasy. It’s based on real momentum:
- Current ETH price: ~$4,300
- Target: +72% gain by year-end
- Catalysts:
- Continued treasury company accumulation
- ETF inflows accelerating
- EigenLayer and restaking boosting ETH’s utility
- Layer 2 growth (Arbitrum, Optimism, zkSync)
If institutional demand grows at current rates, $7,500 could be conservative.
The Bigger Picture: Ethereum as Financial Infrastructure
Standard Chartered sees ETH evolving beyond crypto.
It’s becoming:
- The security layer for restaked protocols
- The settlement rail for tokenized real-world assets (bonds, real estate)
- The backbone of AI-agent economies and DeFi 3.0
In this new financial architecture, Ethereum isn’t just valuable—it’s essential.
