Ethereum Just Took a Major Hit to Its Outlook

Standard Chartered (LSE:STAN) has cut its 2025 year-end price target for Ether from $10,000 to just $4,000, citing structural decline in the market.

Standard Chartered has slashed its year-end price target for Ether (CRYPTO: ETH) from $10,000 to just $4,000, highlighting structural decline in the market, CoinDesk reports.

The bank's analysts, who previously envisioned a significant recovery in the cryptocurrency's price, have now lowered their expectations due to several key factors.

According to their analysis, Ethereum's dominance has been fading, and its network is losing ground to Layer 2 blockchains, such as Coinbase's (NASDAQ:COIN) Base, which has reportedly shaved $50 billion off Ether's market cap.

"We believe this trend is likely to continue unless the Ethereum Foundation makes a drastic change, such as introducing a tax on Layer 2 networks to incentivize users to stay on the main chain," the analysts stated.

The analysts are still expecting a price recovery from current levels, but they anticipate that Ethereum will underperform compared to Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC).

"Despite the recent price declines, we anticipate that Bitcoin will continue to outperform in the year ahead, given its limited supply and persistent demand from institutions," they explained.

Furthermore, Ethereum is struggling on the technical side. On-chain data reveals weak network activity, declining total value locked (TVL), and continuous outflows from spot Ethereum ETFs. Over the past month, Ethereum-based investment products have seen outflows totaling $265 million, marking the worst streak since 2015, according to CoinShares.

The TVL has also dropped significantly, falling by 47% since January to just $46.37 billion. Leading protocols like Lido, EigenLayer, and Maker have seen sharp declines in deposits, making investors question Ethereum's ability to maintain its DeFi dominance.

Chart analysts are also not optimistic, as Ethereum's price remains pinned below $2,000, with a bearish flag pattern potentially signaling a drop as low as $1,530 if support at $1,880 breaks. This could mean another 20% downside from current levels.

At the time of writing, Ethereum is sitting at $1,917.74.