Why Standard Chartered lowered Solana price target for 2026 but raised it to $2,000 by 2030

Core Viewpoint - Solana is transitioning from a memecoin phase to a micropayments powerhouse, with a price forecast of $2,000 by 2030 according to Standard Chartered [1][10]. Group 1: Price Forecasts - Standard Chartered has lowered Solana's price target for 2026 to $250 from $310, while currently trading at $102 [2][10]. - Future price projections include $400 by the end of next year, $700 by the end of 2028, $1,200 by 2029, and $2,000 by the end of 2030 [3]. Group 2: Micropayments Potential - Micropayments, defined as small transactions allowing pay-per-use models, are seen as a key area where crypto can provide solutions [4]. - Traditional payment processors charge high fees, making micropayments economically unfeasible; for example, Stripe charges approximately $0.30 per transaction [8]. Group 3: Competitive Advantage of Solana - Solana's median transaction fee is $0.0007, significantly lower than Base's average gas fee of $0.015, making micropayments viable [7]. - The low transaction costs of Solana threaten traditional payment processors, as they enable micropayments that were previously not possible [10]. Group 4: Stablecoin Usage - The market value of stablecoins on Solana has grown rapidly, with about $13 billion currently in circulation, and they are used more frequently for payments compared to Ethereum [11]. - Increased micropayment activity using SOL-stablecoins on Solana is expected to drive up the price of SOL [11].