Standard Chartered Predicts Crypto Market Shake-Up: Solana Poised for Long-Term Surge Beyond Bitcoin

The cryptocurrency market is currently navigating turbulent waters, yet this period of adversity is simultaneously forging a golden opportunity for robust protocols to distinguish themselves from speculative ventures. A recent report from Standard Chartered signals a critical juncture, asserting that as market pressures intensify, “quality protocols” will inevitably separate from “speculative projects,” making now an opportune moment for strategic, low-cost accumulation.

Strategic Accumulation Amidst Market Differentiation

Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s Head of Global Digital Asset Research, confirms his firm’s strategy of accumulating digital assets during this downturn. He views the current market pullback as the nascent phase of “performance differentiation” within the cryptocurrency industry. Kendrick anticipates that after a necessary period of forced deleveraging and selling pressure subsides, the market will ultimately revert to fundamental evaluations.

Solana’s Evolving Trajectory: Short-Term Revisions, Long-Term Optimism

In a research note released this week, Kendrick adjusted Solana’s (SOL) year-end target price downwards from an initial $310 to $250. This revision stems from the observation that Solana’s next “killer application” requires more time to mature before achieving widespread adoption and significant growth.

Despite this short-term adjustment, Kendrick remains profoundly confident in Solana’s long-term potential, significantly elevating his projections:

• 2027: SOL projected to reach $400
• 2028: Anticipated to climb to $700
• 2029: Forecasted to surge to $1,200
• 2030: Expected to break the $2,000 barrier

Kendrick emphasizes that with the cessation of forced selling, protocols underpinned by tangible applications and strong fundamentals will once again garner favor. He advises against broad, indiscriminate investments, advocating instead for a “quality over quantity, precise positioning” strategy.

The Solana Transformation: From Meme Coins to Micropayments

Standard Chartered highlights a pivotal shift within the Solana ecosystem. Decentralized trading activity is increasingly gravitating towards SOL stablecoin trading pairs, indicating a fundamental transition from its previous heavy reliance on meme coin speculation to application scenarios centered around micropayments.

Drawing on on-chain data analysis, Standard Chartered notes: “When we began tracking Solana in May 2025, on-chain activity was almost entirely dominated by meme coin trading on decentralized exchanges.” However, this dynamic began to change in 2025. As the meme coin fervor waned, market capital started to pivot towards “tokenized dollars”—USD assets existing in stablecoin form. Kendrick believes the sustained growth of this trend will enable Solana to carve out entirely new application domains in the “post-meme coin era.”

Unlocking New Frontiers: The Power of Low Transaction Costs

The driving force behind Standard Chartered’s optimism for Solana’s transformation is its exceptionally low transaction costs. This critical advantage unlocks previously unattainable application scenarios, such as AI-driven micropayments (small, automated transactions between AI agents).

Standard Chartered’s data reveals that Solana’s on-chain stablecoin turnover rate is already 2 to 3 times higher than Ethereum’s. This underscores Solana’s emerging unique competitive moat in the realm of high-frequency payment transactions, particularly as native protocols like Coinbase-backed x402 gain significant market traction.

Navigating the Path: Short-Term Lag, Long-Term Catch-Up

Kendrick cautions that this transformation will not materialize instantaneously. Standard Chartered anticipates that Solana’s overall performance will likely trail Ethereum between 2026 and 2027. It is only when micropayment applications truly achieve widespread scale that Solana is expected to close the gap and potentially surpass its competitor.

Ethereum’s Enduring Strength and Solana’s Long-Term Outperformance

Standard Chartered reiterates that among mainstream cryptocurrencies, Ethereum (ETH) remains the most favored asset in the short term. The bank posits that the primary infrastructure development for stablecoins and Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization will continue to concentrate on Ethereum. With accelerated institutional adoption of stablecoins, Ethereum is well-positioned to outperform its peers in 2026.

However, when extending the investment horizon, Standard Chartered projects that SOL’s performance will outpace Bitcoin (BTC) between 2027 and 2030, demonstrating substantial catch-up growth and explosive potential.