Standard Chartered is guiding investors to look beyond short-term volatility in digital assets and to focus on what it calls 'quality' projects in blockchain.
The statement was made as the recent drop redefines the relative value across the crypto market.
Standard Chartered supports Ethereum and Solana
Geoff Kendrick, head of Research on Coins and Digital Assets at the bank, stated that he is accumulating assets during the downturn. For the analyst, the retraction movement marks a decisive moment for long-term focused investors.
“… I am a buyer in this drop of digital assets,” Kendrick told BeInCrypto via email. “I still believe this is the beginning of a greater differentiation in performance among digital assets, where quality projects will emerge as winners.”
In this scenario, Standard Chartered continues to prioritize Ethereum and Solana as its main exposures in layer-1. Kendrick reinforced this assessment and added:
“I have previously highlighted my opinion that Ethereum is one of those quality projects. And now I do the same with Solana. Invest in quality.”
Recently, Standard Chartered stated that it has seen Ethereum outperform Bitcoin, highlighting leadership in DeFi, improvements in scalability, and greater regulatory clarity.
However, the bank revised its short-term expectations for Solana. Standard Chartered lowered its price projection for SOL at the end of 2026 from $310 to $250. According to the institution, this is due to the time needed for the maturation of the next big use case for the network.
“We have reduced our projection for the end of 2026 to $250, as the next big use case for Solana may take time,” said Kendrick.
Despite the adjustment, the bank raised its long-term estimates, indicating that Solana's structural advantages remain strong.
Solana's shift from memecoins to micropayments could drive superior long-term performance
According to Standard Chartered, the ultra-low cost architecture and high processing capacity position Solana as a leader in the micropayments segment in the future. Kendrick claims that this thesis strengthens as AI-based applications and transactions using stablecoins gain traction.
“After this, we raised our projections because we see Solana dominating the micropayments sector,” Kendrick stated.
If this scenario is confirmed, the bank expects SOL to outperform Bitcoin between 2027 and 2030 while gradually catching up to Ethereum in scale.
The report also mentions a significant shift in Solana's decentralized exchanges. Although the network was historically linked to activity involving memecoins, flows are now increasingly migrating to SOL-stablecoin trading pairs.
According to Standard Chartered, these stablecoins circulate two to three times faster than their Ethereum equivalents.
This transformation could help Solana overcome the so-called 'memecoin discount,' which limited its value and deterred participants from the traditional market.
Analysts support the narrative of victories in quality from Standard Chartered
Market experts in general echoed the bank's view that 'quality projects stand out.' Investor Mike Alfred classified the drop as a classic risk aversion move.
“… this is a standard risk aversion move, where lower quality assets suffer more and then everything recovers… It is at this moment that big profits occur,” Alfred wrote when commenting on the recent market drop.
Developer and investor Mike Ippolito made a similar assessment, highlighting that the pessimism in the market went beyond expectations.
“I believe people are excessively pessimistic about ETH and SOL today,” he stated, comparing layer-1 blockchains to the 'Amazon or Google of our time' due to their global reach, barriers to entry, and revenue generation potential.
Standard Chartered projects that Solana will underperform Ethereum until 2026 and early 2027. However, from that period on, the bank expects a recovery phase driven by scale, utility, and cost advantages.
For Kendrick, the current volatility acts less as a warning sign and more as a selection mechanism, which could reward investors willing to acquire quality assets while the market is still unstable.
The article 'Global bank sees Solana's drop as a long-term opportunity' was first seen in BeInCrypto Brazil.
