Standard Chartered on Tuesday downgraded its near-term outlook for Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) but raised long-term price targets, arguing the network is evolving beyond meme coin speculation toward stablecoin-driven micropayments.

Near Term Cut, Long Term Raised

Standard Chartered lowered its 2026 Solana target to $250 from $310 as the token struggles in the short term, recently trading near $97 following a sharp drawdown, Decrypt reported on Tuesday.

At the same time, the bank raised its long-term outlook, setting targets of $400 by the end of 2027, $700 by 2028, $1,200 by 2029 and $2,000 by 2030.

The bullish thesis centers on Solana's speed and ultra-low fees, which the bank believes position it as a leading chain for AI-driven micropayments and stablecoin transfers.

Standard Chartered noted that stablecoins on Solana already turn over two to three times faster than on Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), pointing to a more transactional use case.

Why Is SOL Underperforming?

Despite the long-term optimism, the bank expects Solana to underperform Ethereum through 2027 due to a longer timeline required to scale its core use cases.

Solana remains heavily exposed to meme-coin activity.

About 47% of on-chain fees in 2025 came from decentralized exchanges dominated by meme coins, though that share has declined since the peak of Trump-themed meme-coin trading.

Standard Chartered said it is closely watching metrics such as stablecoin transfer volume and velocity on Solana.

Over the longer term, the bank expects Solana to outperform Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) through 2030, once micropayments mature and stablecoin usage drives sustained demand for SOL.

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