As crypto markets look toward 2026, price expectations for Ethereum and select altcoins are diverging sharply.

Institutional adoption, the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), and regulatory clarity are fueling some of the most bullish forecasts of the cycle. At the same time, a growing camp of analysts remains cautious, arguing that structural constraints and Bitcoin-led market dynamics could limit upside.

The result is a wide spectrum of projections, not just on price levels, but on what crypto’s next phase actually represents.

Ethereum (ETH) sits at the center of 2026 price debates, with forecasts ranging from mid-four-figure to long-term five-figure scenarios. Much of that divergence hinges on whether Ethereum’s expanding role in traditional finance will translate into sustained demand.

Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder Tom Lee, who is also the chairman of Ethereum treasury company Bitmine, has outlined one of the most optimistic institutional cases for the cryptocurrency. Speaking on CNBC, Lee projected ETH could reach $7,000 to $9,000 by early 2026, with the potential to climb toward $20,000 over a longer timeframe as Wall Street accelerates its move toward blockchain-based infrastructure.

Source: CNBC

Lee’s thesis centers on Ethereum becoming the settlement layer for tokenized securities, stablecoins, and on-chain financial operations. He pointed to institutions such as BlackRock and Robinhood, which are actively testing tokenized assets and on-chain settlement systems, as early indicators of a broader migration of financial assets onto blockchain rails.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has echoed similar expectations. Appearing alongside Lee on the Bankless podcast, Hayes reaffirmed his $10,000 ETH target, framing the move as price discovery following nearly four years of consolidation below its 2021 highs.

Source: Bankless

Lee emphasized that such a move would not represent a speculative blow-off, arguing that Ethereum has spent years building a base after peaking near $4,878 in 2021.

More conservative but still bullish forecasts have come from traditional finance.

Standard Chartered has raised its Ethereum price target to $7,500 while also increasing its 2028 projection to $25,000, citing improved market conditions and accelerating institutional participation.

The bank highlighted aggressive accumulation by corporate treasuries and spot ETFs, which have acquired approximately 3.8% of all Ether in circulation since June. Treasury firms alone purchased around 2.3 million ETH in just over two months, a pace nearly double that seen in comparable Bitcoin accumulation phases.

Standard Chartered also pointed to Ethereum’s dominant position in stablecoins. More than half of all stablecoins operate on Ethereum, generating roughly 40% of all blockchain fees, reinforcing the network’s role as the primary settlement layer for dollar-denominated blockchain transactions.

Ethereum’s 2026 outlook has been increasingly shaped by balance-sheet behavior rather than retail speculation.

BitMine Immersion Technologies, chaired by Lee, holds 4,066,062 ETH, making it the largest Ethereum-focused corporate treasury. Sharplink Gaming ranks second, holding 797,704 ETH, valued at approximately $2.33 billion.

Source: Strategic ETH Reserve

Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom has projected that Ethereum’s total value locked (TVL) could increase tenfold during 2026, driven by growth in stablecoins, tokenized RWAs, and expanding institutional use cases.

Source: Joseph Chalom

Chalom expects the stablecoin market to reach $500 billion by December 2026, up from roughly $316 billion today, with Ethereum processing over half of that activity. He also forecast that tokenized RWAs could grow toward $300 billion, evolving from individual securities into fully tokenized fund complexes.

Ethereum currently processes more than $12 billion in tokenized assets, significantly outpacing competing networks such as Solana and Arbitrum, according to RWA.xyz.

Despite bullish institutional narratives, not all analysts expect Ethereum to reach new price highs in 2026.

Crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen has argued that Ethereum is unlikely to establish new all-time highs next year, citing prevailing Bitcoin (BTC) market conditions and broader liquidity dynamics. At the time of his comments, ETH was trading near $2,924, down just over 3% on a 30-day basis.

Source: Bankless

This view frames Ethereum as structurally important but tactically constrained, benefiting from adoption without necessarily capturing outsized price appreciation within the current cycle.

XRP (XRP) presents a distinct altcoin narrative heading into 2026, shaped primarily by regulatory clarity and institutional positioning.

Standard Chartered has reiterated one of the most bullish mainstream forecasts for XRP, projecting the coin could reach $8 by the end of 2026, implying a roughly 340% upside from its current price of $1.81 at the time of writing.

The bank attributes this outlook to improved U.S. regulatory clarity, which it says has removed a key overhang and made it easier for institutions to gain exposure. That shift has been reflected in investment product inflows, with U.S.-listed spot XRP ETFs attracting around $1.16 billion in net inflows since their November launch.

Source: SosoValue

At the same time, XRP exchange balances have declined toward multi-year lows, reducing immediately available supply — a dynamic that can magnify price movements if demand holds.

Related Article: Bitcoin 2026 Price Predictions: Will BTC See $250K or $10K Next Year?

Despite bullish long-term projections, XRP’s short-term setup remains fragile.

The coin has generally been trading around roughly $1.85–$1.87, with volume rising roughly 20% above weekly averages while price remains range-bound, a pattern often interpreted as positioning rather than panic. At the time of writing, its price has fallen out of this range to trade at $1.81.

Technical indicators show sellers continuing to lean into rallies, and derivatives data reveals rising open interest without confirmation from spot flows. The next key catalyst is January’s scheduled 1 billion XRP escrow unlock, an event that historically heightens sensitivity to supply even if a large portion is re-escrowed.

Beyond layer-1 assets, Hyperliquid’s HYPE (HYPE) token has emerged as a notable DeFi-focused target for price forecasts.

Cantor Fitzgerald projects HYPE could exceed $200 by 2035, driven by decentralized perpetual futures adoption and aggressive buyback mechanics embedded in the protocol’s design

The forecast assumes a 15% compound annual growth rate, supported by an on-chain Assistance Fund that uses 99% of protocol trading fees to repurchase HYPE tokens. Cantor also assumes centralized exchanges lose approximately 1% of market share annually to decentralized venues.

However, competition remains a key risk. Emerging perpetual DEXs, particularly those using reward farming and token generation events, threaten to erode Hyperliquid’s dominance, especially in the short term.

The spread of 2026 price predictions across Ethereum, XRP, and select DeFi tokens highlights a market at a structural crossroads.

Bullish scenarios assume institutional adoption, tokenization, and regulatory clarity represent a durable shift in how crypto assets are used and valued. More cautious views maintain that prices remain tightly linked to Bitcoin cycles, liquidity conditions, and execution risk.

Unlike previous cycles, the debate is no longer about whether these networks function but how quickly real-world adoption converts into sustained price pressure.

As 2026 approaches, Ethereum and its surrounding ecosystem are emerging as the clearest test of whether crypto’s infrastructure narrative can finally translate into long-term valuation support.

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