Ethereum just got one of its biggest bullish calls this year. Standard Chartered has sharply raised its price forecast, setting a new 2025 year-end target of $7,500, up from $4,000, and a long-term projection of $25,000 by 2028.
The bank says the move is backed by a wave of institutional buying, the rise of Ethereum-focused treasury companies, and fresh momentum in stablecoin adoption following recent regulatory clarity in the US.
Here’s what you need to know.
One of the biggest drivers is that corporate treasuries are loading up on ETH.
Combined targets from leading firms add up to $30.4 billion, a massive jump from the $7.59 billion already held. BitMine tops the list with plans to allocate $22 billion, aiming for around 5% of the total ETH supply.
The past month has seen aggressive accumulation:
Together, the top 10 treasury companies hold 2.63 million ETH – about 2.63% of all supply.
Many companies are exploring ways to earn higher returns in DeFi. Yields from staking sit around 3-5%, but competition for better returns could push billions into DeFi protocols.
Etherealize’s Vivek Raman says this could be the spark for “DeFi Summer 2.0 – but on the institutional scale and bigger and better.”
The GENIUS Act, passed in July, sets a clear rulebook for stablecoins. This matters because stablecoins make up 40% of all blockchain fees, with more than half issued on Ethereum.
Standard Chartered expects the stablecoin market cap to surge eightfold to $2 trillion by 2028, feeding more demand for ETH.
ETH is trading near $4,702, just 3.8% shy of its 2021 all-time high of $4,891. But big holders are cashing in – the whale group “7 Siblings” sold $88.2M worth of ETH in 24 hours, while the Ethereum Foundation sold $12.7M.
Standard Chartered’s call is a powerful sign of Ethereum’s growing role in DeFi.
BitMine leads with $22B allocation plans (833K ETH), followed by SharpLink Gaming (521K ETH) and Ether Machine (345K ETH) – collectively holding 2.63% of total supply.
The law’s stablecoin clarity could grow the $280B market to $2T by 2028 – with 40% of blockchain fees coming from ETH-based stablecoins like USDC and USDT.
Yes – Treasury firms seek 3-5% staking yields, potentially sparking “Institutional DeFi Summer” as $30B+ in ETH gets deployed across protocols.
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