In today’s Solana News, Standard Chartered is encouraging market participants to look beyond short-term swings in digital assets and concentrate instead on what it describes as higher-quality blockchain networks. The comments come as the recent downturn makes prices cheaper across the crypto space while also creating a clearer separation between stronger ecosystems and more speculative tokens.
According to Geoff Kendrick, the bank’s Head of FX and Digital Assets Research, the latest pullback offers a strategic window to buy into projects with long-term sustainability rather than chasing short-lived rallies.
Kendrick noted that he is adding to his crypto positions during the weakness, arguing that assets with long-term prospects are likely to emerge strongly as volatility fades. Within that framework, Ethereum and Solana remain the bank’s preferred layer-1 blockchains.
He reiterated that Ethereum stands out because of its dominance in DeFi, ongoing scalability upgrades, and improving regulatory clarity. At the same time, he placed Solana in a similar “quality” category, citing its technical strengths and growing ecosystem.
Still, the bank has slightly adjusted its near-term expectations for SOL. Standard Chartered lowered its 2026 forecast to $250 from $310, acknowledging that Solana’s next major move could take longer to fully develop.
Nonetheless, the revision does not reflect weakening confidence. Instead, the bank lifted its longer-term outlook, arguing that Solana’s structural advantages remain intact.
Looking further ahead, Kendrick believes Solana’s high throughput and low fees could position it as a leading network for micropayments, particularly as AI-driven applications and stablecoin activity expand. If that scenario materializes, the bank expects SOL to outperform Bitcoin between 2027 and 2030.
Importantly, on-chain behavior appears to support that thesis. Activity on Solana’s decentralized exchanges is shifting away from meme tokens and toward SOL-stablecoin pairs. These stablecoins are reportedly turning over two to three times faster than comparable assets on Ethereum, signaling more utility-focused demand.
Standard Chartered also expects Solana to outperform Ethereum this year and into 2027. On a broader scale, it sees SOL gradually narrowing the gap to Ethereum, predicting a $2,000 price by 2030.
Despite a long-term bullish outlook, Solana is struggling to replicate its price performance. As a result, some market participants also look beyond large-cap assets and examine earlier-stage blockchain projects, where price dynamics and risk profiles differ significantly.
Within this broader context, attention has increasingly turned to smaller altcoins operating in niche segments. One project often mentioned in this category is Minotaurus (MTAUR).
MTAUR is a Binance Smart Chain-based token powering a blockchain-integrated gaming platform. Unlike meme-driven tokens, Minotaurus focuses on functional gameplay and token-based mechanics, providing players with exciting features.
At the current market price of 0.00012656 USDT, one can acquire 395,000 MTAUR for less than 50 USDT. Let’s assume that MTAUR hypothetically rallies 17,820% as SOL did from its all-time low; a 50 USDT purchase would turn into 8,960 USDT.
Now, imagine buying 100 USDT, 1,000 USDT, or 10,000 USDT worth of MTAUR at the current price, and it allegedly mirrors SOL’s all-time rally. Such portfolio upsides would easily make one a millionaire.
Buy MTAUR now or learn more at minotaurus.io.
