TradFi Rushes Into Crypto ETFs as Standard Chartered Supports Ethereum Treasuries with a $7,500 Goal
One of the largest banks in the City has reinterpreted the significant Ethereum USD price dip from its peak as an ideal entry moment. Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s head of digital assets, informed clients this week that ETH USD is still fundamentally undervalued, forecasting a year-end target of $7,500 fueled by growing institutional interest and a surge in treasury investments.
Kendrick’s memo pointed out that Ethereum-centric exchange-traded funds and corporate treasury firms have acquired 4.9% of the supply since June, a percentage he predicts will reach 10% by year-end.
This consistent accumulation of tokens has been pivotal in driving ETH to $4,953 on Sunday, surpassing the previous high set in November 2021 before pulling back by -11% in the subsequent sessions.
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For Standard Chartered, it’s not the price correction that matters but the fundamental buy-in. “ETH and the ETH treasury firms are undervalued at the current prices,” Kendrick emphasized, noting that corporate treasuries enjoy dual benefits from locking tokens rewards and Decentralized finance yield opportunities that ETF investors do not access.
He suggests that Ethereum treasuries are a more logical choice than Bitcoin treasuries, which have yield options limited to mere passive holding.
Investment flows price floor this argument. According to SoSoValue data, Ethereum ETFs attracted $443.9M on Monday alone, significantly more than the $219M that went to BTC equivalents.
(Source – Ethereum ETF Dashboard, SoSoValue)
During Thursday and Friday of last week, Ethereum funds drew in $628M in new investments, while Bitcoin products experienced outflows. Year-to-date, ETH USD has risen by +32.6%, nearly twice Bitcoin’s +17.3%.
This separation highlights how swiftly traditional finance is transforming the crypto asset landscape. Since the SEC approved spot ETFs in January 2024, Wall Street has emerged as the largest marginal buyer of digital assets, influencing price trends that were once dictated by retail investors.
Currently, issuers are striving to expand their offerings beyond just Bitcoin and ETH.
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Bitwise Targets LINK Price Growth with New Spot Chainlink Crypto ETF
On Tuesday, Bitwise Asset Management submitted an S-1 for a spot Chainlink ETF, designating Coinbase Custody Trust as custodian and Coinbase, Inc. as execution agent.
The product will track LINK’s spot price but will not include earning yield, despite the SEC’s clarification in May that locking tokens rewards should not be considered a securities transaction.
Bitwise’s conservative structure indicates that issuers are focusing on obtaining regulatory approval quickly rather than maximizing potential yields.
This initiative follows Grayscale’s ambition to convert its Avalanche Trust into a spot AVAX ETF, part of an intensifying competition to secure listings for mid-cap altcoins associated with real-world adoption.
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan has already referred to Chainlink as one of the “cleanest” options in the tokenization trend, with LINK supporting oracle frameworks for both Decentralized finance and institutional projects.
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What Does This Traditional Finance News Mean for Retail Crypto Traders?
These developments collectively signify a noteworthy change: the ETF pipeline is expanding beyond BTC and Ether alone.
Rather, traditional finance is creating pathways for investment opportunities across the broader alternative coin landscape, with liquidity increasingly influenced by institutional asset managers rather than social media groups or celebrity endorsements.
The takeaway for retail traders is clear. The market is being rapidly financialized. If Standard Chartered’s forecast of ETH reaching $7,500 holds true, it will be propelled not by speculative enthusiasm but by strategic treasury allocations and ETF inflows.
Moreover, as new single-token ETFs for Chainlink, Avalanche, and others launch, the upcoming alternative coin shifts might be dictated not in online chats but within the trading rooms of Wall Street.
The remaining question is how swiftly retail can adjust to a crypto market now governed by traditional finance investment, and whether the familiar market fluctuation cycles will endure through this transition.
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The article TradFi Floods Into Crypto ETFs as Standard Chartered Backs Ethereum Treasuries at $7,500 Target initially appeared on 99Bitcoins.
