Ethereum could outpace Bitcoin by a wide margin over the next four years — at 
least according to one of the most bullish forecasts to come out of 
traditional banking. That is the view from Geoff Kendrick, Global Head of 
Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered, who laid out the projection in 
a recent podcast appearance. Ethereum&#8217;s Potential Gain Towers Over Bitcoin&#8217;s 
While Bitcoin grabs the bigger headline number, the math actually favors 
Ethereum. Kendrick&#8217;s base case puts Bitcoin at $500,000 by 2030 — roughly 7.5 
times its current price of $66,400. Ethereum, sitting at $2,034, would need to 
hit $40,000 to meet his target. That works out to about 20 times its current 
value. In other words, Ethereum holders would see nearly three times the 
relative return compared to Bitcoin investors, if the forecast holds. Related 
Reading: Bitcoin Stumbles Hard: The Worst Q1 In Years Raises Big Questions 
Kendrick flagged the ETH/BTC ratio as one indicator to watch. That ratio 
currently sits at around 0.03. His outlook has it climbing to 0.04 in the near 
term, a signal that Ethereum would be gaining ground on Bitcoin in relative 
terms. He also offered a more immediate checkpoint: if Bitcoin gets back to 
$100,000 by the end of 2026, Ethereum should be trading near $4,000. That 
would represent gains of roughly 50% for Bitcoin and 95% for Ethereum from 
where both assets currently stand. Global Head of Digital Assets Research at 
Standard Chartered: &#8220;I&#8217;ve got $500K Bitcoin by 2030 and $40K Ethereum by 2030 
&#8211; a massive outperformance.&#8221; That&#8217;s ~20x on $ETH from here. 
pic.twitter.com/p7dFwPrTzG — Milk Road (@MilkRoad) April 1, 2026 Banks Are 
Choosing Ethereum First One reason why Kendrick believes in the bullishness of 
Ethereum is that the financial sector has been joining the blockchain 
revolution. From Kendrick’s point of view, large asset management firms and 
banks usually begin their blockchain ventures by developing products based on 
Ethereum since it has a reputation for safety and reliability. For instance, 
BlackRock started creating blockchain products using Ethereum first before 
venturing into other blockchain networks. This pattern, Kendrick argues, gives 
Ethereum a durable edge. As more institutions follow the same playbook, demand 
for the network could build steadily through the end of the decade. He 
described this as the &#8220;first phase&#8221; of real-world adoption playing out 
primarily on Ethereum, even if activity eventually spreads to competing 
blockchains. Related Reading: XRP Could Soon Enter Arizona’s Treasury — Here’s 
What’s Happening Network Usage Seen As A Price Driver Beyond institutional 
adoption, Kendrick pointed to raw network activity as a key factor in his 
price outlook. Rising transaction fees on Ethereum-based applications are seen 
as a gauge of demand. As stablecoins, decentralized finance, and tokenized 
real-world assets continue to grow on the network, that increased usage could 
push the token&#8217;s value higher. The forecast was shared during an interview on 
the Milk Road podcast with host John Gillen. Standard Chartered has not 
publicly released a formal research note tied to these specific figures, but 
Kendrick&#8217;s comments drew wide attention across the crypto community following 
the appearance. Featured image from Meta, chart from TradingView

Standard Chartered Sees Bitcoin Exploding To $500K By 2030

Coinbase’s OCC trust charter approval cements a federally regulated path for 
crypto infrastructure, with CEO Brian Armstrong clarifying it is not becoming 
a bank as the firm advances institutional custody ambitions without entering 
traditional lending or deposit activities. Coinbase OCC Trust Charter Signals 
Federal Crypto Oversight Shift Crypto exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) said it 
is […]

Coinbase Clarifies ‘We Are Not Becoming a Bank’ After Receiving Conditional OCC Nod That Hints at Bigger Moves

The surge in prediction markets signals heightened geopolitical tensions and 
potential for prolonged US military engagement in the region.
The post US military activity in Iran drives prediction market surge for troop 
presence appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

US military activity in Iran drives prediction market surge for troop presence

The incident underscores heightened tensions, diminishing diplomatic 
resolution prospects and impacting market confidence in ceasefire outcomes.
The post Iran downs two US warplanes, reducing April 7 ceasefire odds to 1% 
appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Iran downs two US warplanes, reducing April 7 ceasefire odds to 1%

XRP is struggling around key demand levels. The market is preparing for a 
decisive move. And the data beneath the price is describing a contest between 
two groups of participants who have reached completely opposite conclusions 
about what comes next. Related Reading: XRP Whales Move $592 Million From 
Exchanges In Two Days. Discover What Triggered It A CryptoQuant report has 
identified a divergence in XRP&#8217;s market structure that makes the current price 
level more consequential than it appears on the surface. Spot CVD on Binance 
has climbed to $451 million — real capital, exchanged for real XRP, building 
steadily on the buy side. The participants behind that number believe in the 
current price. They are putting money behind that belief. Simultaneously, 
Binance Perpetual CVD sits at approximately -$1.5 billion, while All CEX 
Perpetual CVD hovers near -$1 billion. The derivatives market is not neutral. 
It is actively bearish — leveraged traders positioned for XRP to fall, with 
conviction strong enough to sustain nearly $1.5 billion in negative cumulative 
positioning. Two markets. Two verdicts. One price level caught between them. 
The spot buyers are absorbing what the derivatives traders are betting 
against. That dynamic — real demand meeting leveraged skepticism at the same 
price — is not a stable condition. One side is accumulating fuel for the 
other&#8217;s forced exit. The article ahead explains which side history tends to 
favor. The Spot Side Is Absorbing What the Derivatives Side Is Selling. That 
Is Not Nothing. The report&#8217;s forward interpretation is where the divergence 
becomes most consequential. Spot demand building against bearish futures 
positioning does not simply represent two groups of participants disagreeing — 
it represents a structural dynamic in which one side&#8217;s losses become the other 
side&#8217;s catalyst. When spot buyers absorb sell pressure that derivatives 
traders are generating, the supply available to push the price lower 
diminishes. When it diminishes enough, the bearish leveraged positions that 
were supposed to profit from the decline become a liability — and the process 
of unwinding them adds buying pressure rather than selling pressure. That 
mechanism — commonly known as a short squeeze — does not require a fundamental 
catalyst to trigger. It requires only that spot demand continues building 
while bearish positioning remains crowded. The report identifies liquidation 
activity as an additional signal pointing to the same fragility: derivatives 
positioning is not just bearish, it is exposed. The report is precise about 
what this does and does not confirm. It is not a bullish signal. It is a pre- 
bullish structure — spot support forming beneath a market that leveraged 
traders are still betting against. Those are different things, and the 
distinction matters. The gap between $451 million in spot buying and $1.5 
billion in bearish futures positioning is the distance between current reality 
and potential forced reaction. If spot demand keeps building and that gap 
keeps widening, the bearish derivatives bias stops being a headwind and starts 
being the fuel. Related Reading: Ethereum Absorbs $1B In An Hour As Trump 
Signals Escalation XRP Drifts Lower as Sellers Maintain Control XRP is trading 
near $1.31, continuing to show signs of weakness after failing to reclaim 
higher levels following the February breakdown. The chart reflects a sustained 
downtrend, with price consistently forming lower highs and lower lows over the 
past several months, indicating that selling pressure remains dominant. After 
the sharp capitulation event in early February — marked by a significant spike 
in volume — XRP entered a consolidation range between roughly $1.25 and $1.50. 
However, this range has not produced a meaningful recovery. Instead, recent 
price action shows a gradual drift toward the lower end of the range, 
suggesting that demand is weakening rather than strengthening. Related 
Reading: $11.4 Billion in XRP Has Left Binance. Here Is What Happens When 
Demand Returns The 50-day and 100-day moving averages are both trending 
downward above the price. Acting as a dynamic resistance and capping any 
short-term rallies. The 200-day moving average remains significantly higher, 
reinforcing the broader bearish structure and confirming that XRP has not yet 
established a reversal. Volume has declined during this consolidation phase, 
indicating reduced participation and limited conviction from buyers. This lack 
of demand is evident in repeated failures to sustain moves above $1.40. Unless 
XRP can reclaim key moving averages and break out of this range with strength, 
the current structure favors continued pressure, with a potential retest of 
lower support levels. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com

Cryptocurrency price in UAH