Simply put
- Standard Chartered has reduced its Solana price target for 2026 from $310 to $250.
- However, the bank has increased its long-term outlook, anticipating that SOL may reach $2,000 by the end of 2030.
- With the rise of micropayments, Solana’s decentralized exchange (DEX) activity is shifting focus from meme coins to SOL and stablecoin pairs.
Standard Chartered has adjusted its 2026 target for Solana but has also raised its long-term forecast. The bank expects memecoins to play a major role in micropayments and stablecoin transactions yet again.
The International Banking Group has cut its year-end SOL forecast to $250, down from $310. Still, it raised predictions for the coming years, with a projection of $2,000 by 2030, according to a research note from Jeff Kendrick, the global head of digital asset research.
Recently, Solana has shed 18% in value over the last week and has plummeted over 48% year-to-date, currently trading at around $101. This drop is stark when compared to its all-time high of $293 reached last January, which was boosted by the launch of a meme coin associated with former President Donald Trump.
“Flow on Solana’s decentralized exchange has started to move away from meme coins, now focusing more on SOL and stablecoin pairs,” Kendrick noted. He also pointed out that stablecoins are exchanging hands two to three times more quickly than their Ethereum counterparts, highlighting a different use case.
The bank now forecasts SOL will hit $400 by the end of 2027, up from a prior target of $350, and aims for $700 by the end of 2028, adjusted from $475, and $1,200 by the end of 2029, revised from $500.
This new target for the end of 2030 marks a significant departure for Standard Chartered, which has never published such an aggressive price forecast for Solana before.
Kendrick mentioned that Solana’s “fast, reliable, and ultra-low-cost transaction model” positions it well to excel in industries that need low-cost, high-volume solutions, particularly in micropayments supported by AI protocols like x402, which has an average transaction size of just $0.06.
When he was asked what key metrics he would monitor to see if micropayments evolve into a major use case for Solana, Kendrick highlighted two aspects: “Stablecoin Transfer Volume on Solana” and “Stablecoin Velocity on Solana.”
With Solana’s average gas fee pegged at $0.0007—compared to Base’s $0.015—the network can manage transactions deemed too small for traditional financial systems or other blockchains profitably.
“AI-driven micropayments using stablecoins are beginning to show that Solana’s significant cost savings could unlock entirely new markets,” Kendrick remarked but also noted that scaling these emerging sectors might take some time.
Solana’s long-term forecast
Standard Chartered believes that Solana will lag behind Ethereum until about 2027, as the micropayments sector gradually matures.
The analysts, however, still predict that Solana will outperform Bitcoin. Yet, they also point out that the token faces short-term challenges as new use cases take time to develop fully.
According to the bank, nearly half (47%) of Solana’s 2025 “GDP” (fees paid to applications on the blockchain) will come from DEX activity. Data suggests that meme coin transactions have dominated but peaked around the time the Trump meme coin debuted before declining up to 2025.
Kendrick stated that Solana is “no longer trading at a discount,” referencing the bank’s market capitalization-to-GDP metric, which is akin to the price-to-earnings ratio for digital assets.
“This indicates a shift in Solana’s DEX activity from meme coin-focused to SOL and stablecoin transactions,” he added. “If SOL and stablecoin actions increase on Solana through micropayments, we should expect SOL prices to climb.”
