Standard Chartered Sees 669% Upside in This Altcoin, Sets Target Date!
Standard Chartered set a $2 target for Ethena’s ENA token by the end of 2028, projecting an increase of approximately 669% from the price cited in the report.
According to a report cited by The Block, the bank began covering Ethena and based its price outlook on the relationship between the growth of the project’s stablecoin USDe and ENA buybacks. ENA was trading at 0,26 dollars, according to the price data given in the article for September 30.
The bank’s expectation for USDe supply over the same period is for it to rise from 4,9 billion dollars to approximately 40 billion dollars. This target means the amount of USDe in circulation would grow by more than 8x.
A buyback calculation underpins the ENA price target
Ethena’s revenue mechanism, approved unanimously, calls for 95% of the net revenue of businesses operating under the brand to be allocated to ENA buybacks. According to Standard Chartered, the impact of this mechanism on the token could also grow as USDe expands.
In the bank’s calculation, if USDe supply reaches 40 billion dollars by the end of 2028 and the ENA price stays at its current level, annualized buybacks would account for approximately 23% of the total value of ENA in circulation. The bank considers this rate unsustainable and expects the token price to rise so that the buyback rate can stabilize at a lower level.
The report cites Uniswap as a comparison. According to the bank, UNI’s annualized buyback rate has stabilized at around 3–4%, while the token’s price has risen by approximately 3x since it was added to the bank’s coverage in June.
USDe’s sources of yield are diversifying
Ethena is branching into new areas as returns from price differences between crypto spot and futures markets decline. Real-world assets, decentralized finance, institutional credit, and stock- and commodity-linked transactions are among the components of this expansion.
The project has also expanded its strategy of adding tokenized stocks through Binance’s bStocks products to USDe’s backing assets. It uses stock futures on Binance to hedge risks arising from stock prices.
Standard Chartered sees slower-than-expected growth in yield-bearing stablecoins as the main risk to its price forecast. Weak growth in real-world assets brought onto the blockchain could also make it harder for Ethena to expand its sources of yield.