ETH vs. SOL: Why Ethereum May Outperform Solana Despite the Bad Vibes

Why Ethereum Might Outperform Solana—Even With the “Bad Vibes”

It’s easy to feel like nothing really changes in crypto. Prices go up, prices go down, and everyone argues about which chain is “winning.” But this week, I talked to someone who actually had a fresh take—or at least, one that made me pause.

Geoff Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, thinks Ethereum (ETH) could start closing the gap with Solana (SOL) sooner than expected. That’s… not what I would’ve guessed. Lately, the mood around Ethereum has been, well, shaky. Meanwhile, Solana’s been on a tear—fewer outages, more memecoins, and way more hype.

The Institutional Angle

Standard Chartered isn’t some niche crypto shop. It’s a major UK bank, and this was their first-ever report on Solana. That alone says something. They’re bullish on SOL long-term, predicting $275 by December and $500 by 2029. But here’s the twist: they think ETH will do better in the near future.

I pushed back on that. How? Solana’s been crushing it in real economic value—a metric Blockworks Research uses to measure actual demand (tips and fees). SOL’s numbers are strong, even with a market cap four times smaller than Ethereum’s.

The L2 Problem

Kendrick’s argument hinges on Ethereum’s layer-2s. Yeah, they’ve helped scale the network, but there’s a downside. Most trading volume happens on these L2s, and they don’t pay much back to Ethereum in fees. That’s a problem for ETH’s value.

But here’s the thing: Kendrick thinks all the negativity around Ethereum is already “priced in.” The market’s expecting the worst, so any slight improvement could shift things. Maybe. I’m not totally convinced, but it’s worth considering.

Solana’s got momentum, no doubt. But Ethereum’s been written off before—and it’s still here. If nothing else, this report is a reminder that crypto moves in cycles. What’s fading today might not stay down forever.

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