Standard Chartered recently updated its Solana forecast, delivering a mixed bag for investors: a price target cut in the near term, but a massive boost for the long haul. The UK-based banking giant lowered its forecast for the end of 2026 to $250, down from an earlier prediction of $310. However, looking further out, the bank now sees SOL hitting a staggering $2,000 by 2030.
Commenting on the update, Geoffrey Kendrick, the banking giant’s Global Head of Digital Assets Research said that decentralised exchange activity is rotating away from memecoin-led speculation toward stablecoin-based trading pairs. When the bank initiated coverage in mid-2025, Solana’s on-chain activity was heavily skewed toward memecoin trading. Since then, flows have increasingly shifted toward SOL–stablecoin pairs as speculative intensity cooled.
With Solana currently trading around $86, this suggests some short-term turbulence before potential blue skies ahead.
When a major institution like Standard Chartered releases detailed research, it signals that big money is paying attention to fundamentals, not just hype.
This isn’t an isolated event. We are seeing a trend where major financial players are testing the waters. For example, Citi recently explored Solana for institutional trials, validating the network’s speed and low costs for heavy-duty finance. Standard Chartered’s new report emphasizes that Solana is moving beyond its “memecoin casino” phase and maturing into a network capable of handling global payments.
This aligns with the broader industry shift where the Solana Foundation is focusing heavily on finance over gaming. By betting on utility rather than just speculation, these institutions are building a case for sustainable growth
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SOL at $400 by the end of 2027?
So, let’s look at the specific numbers. According to Kendrick the short-term outlook has cooled slightly. The bank lowered its target to $250 by the end of 2026. While this is more than double the current price, it is a downgrade from their previous $310 estimate.
But the real story is in the long-term trajectory. Kendrick forecasts steady growth post-2026, $400 by the end of 2027. Furthermore, the bank predicts $700 by 2028, $1200 by 2029 and $2000 by 2030.
Why such optimism later on? The bank believes Solana is uniquely positioned to dominate micropayments. These are tiny transactions (like paying a few cents to read a single news article or an AI agent paying for data) that are impossible on other chains due to fees.
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BONUS: Is Bitcoin Hyper the Smartest Play in 2026?
While on the topic of Solana, it is undeniably going through a rough patch, falling below $80 during this ongoing crypto crash. There is another hot new project using its infrastructure.
Enter Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER). It is the first-ever Layer-2 protocol built for Bitcoin, and by utilizing the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM), it opens the Bitcoin core layer up to an unexplored ecosystem of products, including GameFi, NFTs, AI Agents, and most importantly, DeFi.
With over $100Bn currently parked in Aave and other DeFi protocols, it highlights just how lucrative the Bitcoin Hyper project could be, with HYPER presale investors hoping this is the next golden ticket.
The market is currently in turmoil, and the smart play is to look for undervalued blue-chip projects to invest in when things turn positive again. With HYPER still available in the presale at presale prices, smart traders should always be positioning for greener days ahead, and Bitcoin Hyper is the perfect opportunity to do so.
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