Standard Chartered Initiates Coverage on Avalanche (AVAX) with Bullish Long-Term Projections
Standard Chartered has recently undertaken coverage of Avalanche (AVAX), presenting an optimistic long-term outlook that anticipates a ten-fold price increase by 2029. This move emerges amidst a period of considerable activity in the digital asset space, as investors begin to re-evaluate potential winners amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties and evolving technological landscapes. Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s head of digital assets, highlighted Avalanche’s potential, dubbing it “the winner in EVM chains.” His assessment aligns with the growing developer traction and scalability advancements that Avalanche has recorded, particularly following Ethereum’s recent upgrade.
The Avalanche platform is designed as a smart contract solution built with Ethereum-compatible tooling, aiming to offer a high-speed alternative to Ethereum (ETH). Kendrick pointed out that the network’s architecture, inclusive of customizable subnets, has gained significant prominence following the Etna upgrade implemented in December 2024. This upgrade brought about a critical change by eliminating the need for AVAX staking when establishing subnets, thus simplifying the process and reducing the expenses tied to launching on Avalanche. Early data reflected a positive trend; around 25% of all new subnets are now EVM-compatible—an indication that numerous developers are migrating from Ethereum’s Layer-2 to Avalanche.
As a result, Kendrick expressed optimism that Avalanche’s enhanced scalability would catalyze increased activity and value within the network. Standard Chartered’s research further underscores Avalanche’s modular framework and accelerating ecosystem growth as vital components that could support substantial price appreciation over time. With its strong emphasis on scalability, the platform could attract more developers and users seeking alternatives to Ethereum’s congestion and high transaction costs, particularly as Ethereum faces ongoing competitive challenges from emerging Layer 1 protocols.
Current projections from Standard Chartered suggest that AVAX’s price will rise from roughly $35 today to $120 by the end of 2025, further climbing to $207 in 2026, $269 in 2027, and reaching $350 by 2030. This bullish trajectory implies a ten-fold return on investment over the next five years, expected to surpass the growth anticipated for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) during the same period. In these forecasts, Bitcoin is predicted to ascend from its current value to $200,000 by 2025 and $250,000 by 2030, while Ethereum’s predictions are more conservative, estimating $4,000 in 2025 and $8,000 by 2030.
Kendrick has previously articulated his concerns about Ethereum’s long-term sustainability, coining a phrase "Midlife Crisis" to capture potential structural issues that could impact Ethereum’s competitiveness against rising Layer 1 alternatives. In contrast, Avalanche, with its refined scaling solutions and rapid transaction finality, stands to gain from Ethereum’s ongoing struggles with network congestion and escalating transaction costs. As Kendrick noted, the Etna upgrade significantly bolsters AVAX’s scalability offering, positioning it favorably against Ethereum’s existing limitations.
As of April 4, 2025, Avalanche is positioned as the 15th-ranked cryptocurrency by market cap, trading at approximately $35 with a market capitalization of $7.54 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $329.92 million. The overall cryptocurrency market currently holds a valuation of $2.66 trillion with a 24-hour volume of $94.41 billion. Bitcoin maintains a dominance of approximately 61.94% within the sector. Ultimately, the assessment by Standard Chartered underscores Avalanche’s rapid evolution, developer appeal, and transformative potential amidst a continuously changing crypto landscape, making it a project to watch closely in the coming years.