Entering 2026, Ethereum's performance has been quite remarkable. So far, the year-to-date increase has reached approximately 14%. Although it has recently fluctuated around the $3,300 mark, market sentiment is not pessimistic—in fact, more and more signs indicate that this correction is just a buildup before a mid- to long-term upward trend.

Let's first see how institutions view this. Standard Chartered's forecast is quite aggressive, predicting ETH could surge to $7,500 by the end of the year, and looking further to 2030, the target even points to $40,000. Analysts on the White House side have proposed a baseline target of $5,413, and if market conditions are more optimistic, the aggressive scenario could see $7,155. What do these numbers reflect? They indicate that institutional recognition of Ethereum's long-term potential is increasing.

The fundamentals are also speaking. The transfer volume of stablecoins has exceeded $8 trillion in just one quarter, accounting for 57% of the total global stablecoin issuance—this shows how active on-chain transaction activity truly is. Looking at RWA tokenization, the market share has already surpassed 65%. Large asset management firms like Franklin D. are also investing heavily in this area, and the trend of real assets being tokenized on-chain is now irreversible.

There have been new developments on the technical front. After the Fusaka upgrade, throughput has significantly improved, with recent daily transaction volumes even reaching a record high of 2.23 million transactions—such performance improvements are a tangible boost to investor confidence. Meanwhile, the regulatory environment is also improving. The U.S. Clarity Act is expected to be officially enacted, providing a clear legal framework for the industry, which is undoubtedly a positive signal for large-scale institutional capital inflows.

From a capital perspective, the ETH-to-Bitcoin exchange rate has been steadily rebounding, while Bitcoin's market share is declining. This suggests some funds are shifting from Bitcoin to Ethereum in search of higher yields. The inflow of funds into ETH-related ETFs remains positive. Although there is short-term pressure for correction, the stacking of these multiple positive factors makes the long- to mid-term upward logic quite clear.