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Major Bank Expects Solana to Outperform Bitcoin: When and How?

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Solana (SOL) Price Performance

Standard Chartered is urging investors to look through near-term volatility in digital assets and focus on what it calls “quality” blockchain projects.

The remark comes as the recent selloff reshapes relative value across the crypto market.

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Standard Chartered Backs Ethereum and Solana for Long-Term Outperformance Despite Near-Term Volatility

Geoff Kendrick, the bank’s Head of FX and Digital Assets Research, said he is actively accumulating during the downturn. According to the analyst, the pullback is a defining moment for long-term positioning.

“I am a buyer of this dip in digital assets,” Kendrick told BeInCrypto in an email. “What’s more, I think this is the start of greater differentiation in digital asset performance, whereby quality projects win.”

Within that framework, Standard Chartered continues to favor Ethereum and Solana as its top layer-1 exposures. Kendrick reiterated that view explicitly, adding:

“I have previously highlighted my view that Ethereum is one such quality project. And here I do the same for Solana. Buy quality.”

Recently, Standard Chartered said it saw Ethereum outperforming Bitcoin, citing DeFi dominance, scalability upgrades, and regulatory clarity.

The bank, however, has tempered its near-term expectations for Solana. Standard Chartered lowered its end-2026 price forecast for SOL to $250 from $310. On this, they cite the time required for the network’s next major use case to mature.

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“We lower our end-2026 price forecast to USD 250, as Solana’s next dominant use case may take time,” Kendrick said.

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Despite that cut, the bank raised its longer-dated projections, arguing that Solana’s structural advantages remain intact.

Solana (SOL) Price Performance
Solana (SOL) Price Performance. Source: TradingView

Solana’s Shift from Meme Coins to Micropayments Could Drive Long-Term Outperformance

According to Standard Chartered, Solana’s ultra-low-cost, high-throughput architecture positions it to eventually dominate micropayments. This, Kendrick says, is particularly true as AI-driven applications and stablecoin-based transactions gain traction.

“We raise our forecasts thereafter, as we see Solana eventually dominating the micropayments space,” Kendrick noted.

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If that thesis plays out, the bank expects SOL to outperform Bitcoin between 2027 and 2030, while only gradually catching up to Ethereum as the ecosystem scales.

The report highlights a subtle but important shift underway on Solana’s decentralized exchanges. While the network has long been associated with meme coin activity, flows are increasingly rotating toward SOL-stablecoin trading pairs.

These stablecoins, Standard Chartered notes, are turning over two to three times faster than their Ethereum counterparts.

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That evolution could help Solana shed its “meme coin discount,” which previously weighed on valuation and deterred TradFi participants.

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Analysts Back Standard Chartered’s Quality Wins Narrative

Market commentators broadly echoed the bank’s “quality wins” narrative. Investor Mike Alfred described the drawdown as a textbook risk-off move.

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“…this is a run-of-the-mill risk-off move where the lowest quality goes down the hardest, and then everything bounces… This is when real money is made,” wrote Alfred, referencing the recent market drop.

Developer and investor Mike Ippolito struck a similar tone, arguing that sentiment has swung too far in the negative direction.

“I think people are far too bearish ETH and SOL today,” he said, calling layer-1 blockchains “the Amazon or Google of our time” due to their global markets, high barriers to entry, and fee-generating potential.

Standard Chartered expects Solana to underperform Ethereum through 2026 and into 2027. But beyond that window, the bank sees a catch-up phase driven by scale, utility, and cost advantages.

In Kendrick’s view, the current volatility is less a warning sign than a sorting mechanism, one that may ultimately reward investors willing to buy quality while the market is still unsettled.

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Canaccord slashes price target as stock tumbles to multi-year low

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Michael Saylor hints at another bitcoin purchase despite market turmoil

With crypto winter clearly having set in, bulls are now left looking for signs that the bearishness has become so embedded that a bottom might form.

One case in point might be a note from Canaccord’s Joseph Vafi on Wednesday, slashing his price target on Strategy (MSTR) by a whopping 61% to $185 from $474.

Vafi, who lifted his outlook on Strategy as recently as November (to that $474 level), still maintains a buy rating on the stock, and his new $185 target suggests about 40% upside from last night’s close of $133.

Strategy is now down 15% year-to-date, 62% year-over-year, and 72% from its record high in November 2024.

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Bitcoin, said Vafi, is in the midst of an “identity crisis,” still fitting the profile of a long-term store of value but increasingly trading like a risk asset. That tension came into focus during October’s crypto flash crash, when forced liquidations accelerated selling.

Though frequently cast as “digital gold,” bitcoin has failed to keep pace with the recent surge in precious metals, he continued. As gold has climbed on geopolitical tensions and macro uncertainty, bitcoin has lagged, underscoring its ongoing dependence on liquidity and risk appetite rather than safe-haven demand.

Strategy is built to weather volatility, the report said. The company holds more than $44 billion in bitcoin against roughly $8 billion in convertible debt, including a $1 billion tranche puttable in 2027 that remains in the money. Preferred dividends are manageable through modest share issuance, even with MSTR’s market cap no longer commanding much of a premium to the value of its BTC holdings.

Quarterly results are coming this week, but they have become largely immaterial given Strategy’s near-complete dependence on BTC, Vafi continued. A sizable unrealized loss tied to bitcoin’s fourth-quarter selloff is expected.

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Vafi’s new $185 target assumes a 20% rebound in bitcoin prices and a recovery in the company’s mNAV to about 1.25x.

Read more: ETF that feasts on carnage in bitcoin-holder Strategy hits record high

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Bitcoin Price Falls to a New Low

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Bitcoin Price Falls to a New Low

As the BTC/USD chart shows, prices dropped below $74,000 yesterday. This marks the lowest level since November 2024, when the cryptocurrency was rallying on news of Trump’s election victory.

At the same time, sentiment indicators are signalling “extreme fear” across the market. This was reinforced by the break below the key April 2025 low near $74,450.

The media has been circulating increasingly alarming headlines:
→ Michael Burry, well known for his bearish calls, has suggested that a drop below the $70k level could create problems for the largest coin holder, MicroStrategy (MSTR);
→ Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, warns that the market may be heading for a “full-blown” crypto winter rather than a simple correction.

Technical Analysis of the BTC/USD Chart

The price continues to move further away from the support level whose break we highlighted on 30 January.

At the same time, the market appears extremely oversold:
→ the price has fallen below the lower boundary of the previously drawn descending red channel;
→ the RSI indicator is forming bullish divergences.

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Under these conditions, it is reasonable to assume that the market may be setting up for a technical rebound. This scenario looks particularly plausible given the scale of long position liquidations — around $2.5 billion were wiped out on 31 January alone.

If a recovery does unfold, a key test of bullish intent will be the psychological $80k area, where bears previously held clear control while breaking below the lower boundary of the descending channel.

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This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

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Survey Shows Crypto Investors Favor Infrastructure Over DeFi

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Survey Shows Crypto Investors Favor Infrastructure Over DeFi

A survey of senior crypto investors and executives suggests capital priorities are shifting away from decentralized finance (DeFi) and toward core infrastructure, as decision-makers focus on liquidity constraints and market plumbing. 

The findings come from a new report published by the digital asset conference CfC St. Moritz, based on responses from 242 attendees of its invitation-only event in January. Respondents included institutional investors, founders, C-suite executives, regulators and family office representatives. 

According to the survey, 85% of respondents selected infrastructure as their top funding priority, ahead of DeFi, compliance, cybersecurity and user experience. 

While expectations for revenue growth and innovation remain broadly positive, respondents flagged liquidity shortages as the industry’s most pressing risk. The results suggest that investor interest remains, but capital deployment is becoming more selective.

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Respondents on crypto innovation. Source: CfC St. Moritz

Infrastructure takes priority as liquidity concerns persist

Respondents pointed to market depth and settlement capacity as key bottlenecks preventing larger pools of institutional capital from entering crypto markets. 

About 84% of respondents described the macroeconomic backdrop as better than neutral for crypto growth, though many said existing market infrastructure remains insufficient for large-scale capitalization.

The survey also showed a change in innovation expectations. While a majority expects innovation to accelerate in 2026, fewer respondents anticipate a sharp increase compared to last year, suggesting a shift away from more speculative expectations toward execution-focused development.

This shift aligns with broader industry trends, including a focus on custody, clearing, stablecoin infrastructure and tokenization frameworks rather than consumer-facing applications. 

Related: CoreWeave shows how crypto-era infrastructure quietly became AI’s backbone

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US sentiment improves as IPO expectations cool

The survey found a sharp improvement in perceptions of the US regulatory environment, with respondents ranking the country as the second-most favorable jurisdiction for digital assets, behind the United Arab Emirates. 

CfC St. Moritz attributed the shift to stablecoin legislation and clearer rules for banks and regulated market participants. 

At the same time, expectations for crypto initial public offerings cooled after what respondents described as a record year in 2025. While most still expect listings to continue, fewer expressed high confidence, citing valuation resets and liquidity constraints.