Standard Chartered has issued a bullish long-term forecast for Arbitrum (ARB), projecting that the native token of the leading Ethereum Layer-2 network could surge to $10 by the end of 2030. Initiating coverage on the digital asset in a report titled “Arbitrum – The blockchain for TradFi,” the banking giant outlined a nearly 70-fold upside potential from current trading levels.
Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, emphasized that Arbitrum is uniquely positioned to benefit as traditional financial institutions transition real-world assets onto blockchain rails. The bank forecasts a steady price trajectory over the coming years, placing ARB at $0.50 by the end of 2026, $1.50 in 2027, $3.50 in 2028, and $6.50 in 2029 before hitting the $10 milestone in 2030. Under this model, Standard Chartered expects ARB to outperform both Bitcoin and Ethereum over the forecast period.
Arbitrum to Hit $10 by 2030: Standard Chartered
The central driver behind Standard Chartered’s forecast is the rapid growth of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). The bank projects that the tokenized asset market could expand from roughly $340 billion today to $4 trillion by the end of 2028. As institutional market participants migrate equities, funds, and fixed-income products on-chain, infrastructure providers like Arbitrum stand to capture a significant portion of this activity.
A major element of Arbitrum’s growth strategy involves licensing its tech stack through the Arbitrum Expansion Program. Under this framework, Arbitrum charges institutional partners a 10% fee on net protocol revenue generated by custom Layer-2 and Layer-3 networks built using its software.
A prime example cited by Kendrick is Robinhood Chain, which launched using Arbitrum’s technology stack. Revenue generated through these expanded deployments is on track to push Arbitrum’s total monthly revenue toward approximately $5 million, marking a more than fivefold increase compared to pre-launch levels. Brendan Ma, head of investment strategy at the Arbitrum Foundation, noted that institutional endorsement underscores Arbitrum’s unique positioning as tokenized equity adoption accelerates.
Despite the optimistic price target, Standard Chartered highlighted key risk factors. Primary considerations include potential delays in overall market tokenization, growing competition from alternative Layer-2 platforms, and the absence of a direct token-value capture mechanism linking network fee generation directly to ARB token holders.
ARB Price Surges Massively Amid the News
Following the publication of Standard Chartered’s report, ARB experienced a sharp uptick in trading momentum, jumping over 6% as market participants digested the long-term outlook. The news triggered a noticeable surge in derivative markets, with total ARB futures open interest climbing over 8% to nearly $190 million across major exchanges like Binance and OKX.
The immediate price reaction reflects growing interest in Layer-2 scaling solutions capable of handling institutional transaction volumes. As traditional financial giants continue entering the digital asset ecosystem, Arbitrum’s enterprise-focused licensing model positions it as a foundational layer for on-chain capital markets.
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