Standard Chartered Names This Cryptocurrency with Potential for Over 2,000% Surge by 2030

Standard Chartered has recently focused on the cryptocurrency market, for the first time including the blockchain data service platform Chainlink and its native token LINK in its research scope, forecasting that LINK's price could rise from its current level of approximately $8 to $200 by the end of 2030, representing a potential surge of over 2,000%.

Chainlink is a service platform that connects blockchains with external data. It primarily uses decentralized 'oracles' to securely transmit real-world prices, transactions, and other information onto blockchains for use by smart contracts.

LINK is the native cryptocurrency used within the Chainlink platform, serving to pay for data services, reward network nodes, and participate in staking. However, holding LINK does not equate to owning equity in the Chainlink company.

Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered's Global Head of Digital Asset Research, stated that Chainlink is poised to directly benefit from the accelerated development of asset tokenization and decentralized finance (DeFi). Currently, Chainlink provides secure on-chain connectivity services to approximately 70% of the global DeFi market, with over 80% coverage within the Ethereum ecosystem. To date, it has supported transactions exceeding $32 trillion in value.

The asset tokenization market is growing rapidly.

Standard Chartered estimates that the on-chain tokenized asset market will grow from its current size of approximately $340 billion to $4 trillion by the end of 2028. Meanwhile, active assets within DeFi are expected to expand to $2.7 trillion by the end of 2030—37 times the current scale.

Kendrick believes Chainlink is currently the only platform capable of covering the entire lifecycle of tokenized assets, serving both DeFi and traditional finance (TradFi) markets.

As financial institutions gradually move bonds, funds, and other real-world assets onto blockchains, Chainlink’s integration capabilities in external data, cross-chain transmission, and regulatory compliance tools are expected to become its primary competitive advantages.

Chainlink’s technical architecture consists of four main components: the Onchain Data Protocol, which brings external information onto blockchains; the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), responsible for transferring data and assets across different blockchains; privacy and regulatory tools such as automated compliance engines; and the Chainlink Runtime Environment, which integrates all these services.

These tools enable financial institutions to perform asset issuance, trading, cross-chain transfers, data verification, and regulatory compliance within a single system.

Traditional financial institutions are increasingly adopting Chainlink.

Chainlink is currently collaborating with several global financial and technology institutions, including SWIFT, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Euroclear, JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, UBS, Fidelity Investments, and S&P Global.

Currently, Chainlink’s fee revenue primarily comes from DeFi protocols. However, Standard Chartered expects that as traditional financial institutions expand their adoption of blockchain and tokenized assets, these clients will gradually become a more significant source of revenue for Chainlink.

Standard Chartered estimates that Chainlink’s total fee revenue could grow approximately 25-fold by the end of 2030. Specifically, oracle service fees from off-chain traditional finance clients could increase 20-fold, while fees related to DeFi asset growth may expand 37-fold.

Assuming a linear relationship between fee revenue and token price, Kendrick calculates that LINK’s price could rise approximately 25-fold during the same period, potentially outperforming Standard Chartered’s forecasts for Bitcoin and Ethereum.

LINK’s target price is projected to rise annually.

Standard Chartered predicts LINK’s price will reach $13 by the end of 2026, $41 by the end of 2027, $82 by the end of 2028, $133 by the end of 2029, and ultimately reach $200 by the end of 2030.

However, Standard Chartered also warns that several risks remain. If financial institutions’ progress in asset tokenization is slower than expected, or if Chainlink faces competition from other specialized service providers, its growth momentum could weaken. Technical issues with the platform could also affect market adoption speed and LINK’s price performance.