Standard Chartered: Ether drops, but fundamentals remain strong

Ether has fallen alongside the broader crypto market in recent days, but underlying fundamentals continue to improve, according to Geoff Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered.

ETH was trading around $2,912 during U.S. morning hours Friday, down 12% week-over-week and roughly 1.7% lower year-to-date. Shares of Bitmine Immersion (BMNR) — the largest corporate holder of ether, chaired by Tom Lee — have also slipped nearly 9% on the week and are down 10% so far this year.

Despite the price weakness, Kendrick said activity on Ethereum’s base layer has surged in recent weeks, with transaction counts reaching new all-time highs. He attributed the jump largely to December’s Fusaka upgrade, which analysts say eased previous capacity constraints and enabled more onchain activity.

Unlike earlier upgrade cycles that failed to drive sustained network growth, Fusaka appears to be meaningfully expanding throughput, allowing more users and developers to transact on the network. Kendrick argued that this structural capacity shift distinguishes the current wave of activity from past rallies.

On the corporate side, Bitmine Immersion continues to accumulate ether, Kendrick noted, pointing to comments from Chairman Tom Lee at the company’s annual meeting last week outlining plans for further purchases.

Macro conditions are also turning more supportive for risk assets, he added. Easing tariff risks related to Greenland, a rebound in Japan’s bond market after an early-week sell-off, and rising odds that BlackRock fixed income chief Rick Rieder could become the next Federal Reserve chair all contribute to a more favorable backdrop. A “hotter” economy under such leadership could benefit crypto, Kendrick said.

He concluded that being long ETH and BMNR heading into the weekend offers an attractive risk-reward setup.