Standard Chartered says ‘quality buy’ as Solana’s pullback opens window to long-term performance.

Standard Chartered urges investors to consider the near-term volatility of digital assets and focus on what it calls “quality” blockchain projects.

This statement comes at a time when the recent sale is reshaping the relative value in the cryptocurrency market.

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Standard Chartered backs Ethereum and Solana for long-term performance despite near-term volatility

It’s actively accumulating during the recession, said Jeff Kendrick, head of cryptocurrency and digital asset research at the bank. According to analysts, the pullback is a crucial moment for long-term positioning.

“I’m a buyer of this digital asset dive,” Kendrick told BeInCrypto in an email. “Furthermore, I believe this is the beginning of greater differentiation in the performance of digital assets, where quality projects win.”

In this context, Standard Chartered continues to prefer Ethereum and Solana As the best exposure for the first layer. Kendrick explicitly echoed that sentiment, adding:

“I first realized my view that Ethereum is one of these quality projects. Here I did the same with Solana. Buy quality.”

Recently, Standard Chartered said that… He saw better performance from Ethereum than Bitcoinciting the dominance of decentralized finance, scaling upgrades, and the clarity of regulation.

However, the bank tempered its short-term outlook for Solana. Standard Chartered has lowered its price forecast for the end of 2026 to $ 250 from $ 310. In this sense, they indicate the time needed for the next major use case of the network to mature.

“We have lowered our end-2026 price forecast to $250, as the next mainstream use of Solana may take time,” Kendrick said.

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Despite this downgrade, the bank temporarily raised its longer-term forecast, arguing that Solana’s structural advantages remain.

Solana’s switch from memecoins to micropayments may lead to better long-term performance

According to Standard Chartered, Solana’s low-cost, high-throughput architecture is positioned to eventually dominate micropayments. Kendrick says this is especially true with the rise of AI-driven applications and stablecoin-based transactions.

“We’re raising our expectations then, as we see Solana finally dominating the micropayments space,” Kendrick said.

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If this vision is true, the bank is waiting That SOL beats Bitcoin Between 2027 and 2030, with Ethereum gradually catching up as the ecosystem expands.

The report highlights a subtle but important shift underway Solana decentralized exchanges. While the network has long been associated with memecoin activity, flows are increasingly directed towards SOL stablecoin trading pairs.

These stablecoins, which are Standard Chartered notes, convert two to three times faster than their Ethereum counterparts.

This development can help Solana eliminate the “meme discount”, which previously affected the evaluation and deterred TradFi participants.

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Analysts support the narrative of quality wins from Standard Chartered

Market commentators have generally echoed the bank’s “winning quality” narrative. Investor Mike Alfred described the downgrade as a typical risk-off move.

“…This is a normal venture where the lowest quality falls hard, and then everything bounces back… This is where the real profits are made,” books Alfred, noting the recent market decline.

Developer and investor Mike Ippolito took a similar tone, arguing that sentiment has tilted heavily toward the negative.

““I think people today are very pessimistic towards ETH and SOL,” he said, describing the tier-one blockchain as “the Amazon or Google of our time” because of its global markets, high barriers to entry, and potential to generate fees.

Standard Chartered expects Solana to outperform Ethereum through 2026 and into 2027. But outside this window, the bank sees a compensation phase driven by scale, utility and cost advantages.

In Kendrick’s view, current volatility is less of a warning sign and more of a sorting mechanism, one that can ultimately reward investors willing to buy quality while the market remains volatile.