Standard Chartered initiated coverage on Arbitrum (CRYPTO: ARB) Monday with a $10 price target by end-2030, calling it a 70-fold gain that beats both Bitcoin and Ethereum.
What Standard Chartered Is Saying
In a note cited by The Block, Standard Chartered Global Head of Digital Assets Research Geoff Kendrick set interim targets of $0.50 by end-2026, $1.50 by end-2027, $3.50 by end-2028, and $6.50 by end-2029 before hitting $10 by end-2030.
For context, the bank projects Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) at $100,000 by end-2026 and $500,000 by end-2030, and Ethereum at $4,000 by end-2026 and $40,000 by end-2030, yet still sees ARB outperforming both on a percentage basis.
The core thesis centers on Arbitrum’s role as enterprise blockchain infrastructure for traditional financial firms.
Under its Expansion Program, Arbitrum collects a rolling fee equal to 10% of net protocol revenue from external chains using its technology stack.
“We see digital assets transitioning from a state where revenue is not yet relevant to one where revenue is critical,” Kendrick wrote.
Why Robinhood Chain Changes the Math
Standard Chartered estimated that Arbitrum will collect roughly $5 million in expansion fees in September alone after Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) Chain launched on its tech stack July 1.
Robinhood Chain averaged $2.8 million in daily fee revenue in the first two weeks of September, pushing Arbitrum’s monthly revenue to more than five times its pre-launch level.
Kendrick argued that success creates a template for other traditional finance firms to launch their own chains on Arbitrum, multiplying the fee stream further.
The tokenization opportunity adds another layer. Standard Chartered projects:
- Tokenized assets — $4 trillion by end-2028, up from $340 billion today
- Tokenized equities — $750 billion over the same period
Bitget Wallet already launched tokenized stocks including $rAAPL and $rSPCX directly on Arbitrum with on-chain liquidity Monday, putting real volume behind those projections.
ARB Price Analysis: Key Levels to Watch
ARB is recovering off the August low near $0.07 after spiking to $0.20 before pulling back.
The 20-day EMA at $0.133 tracks closely below as the key support level to hold.
Key levels for ARB:
- $0.191 — Bollinger upper band and spike high, resistance above
- $0.133 — 20-day EMA, must hold to keep breakout intact
- $0.121 — 200-day EMA, deeper support below
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