Standard Chartered sees 614% upside for Ethena's ENA token by end-2028

Standard Chartered initiated coverage of Ethena's ENA token in a September 30 research report. The bank set a $2 price target for end-2028, implying roughly 614% upside from its $0.28 reference price. Standard Chartered expects ENA to outperform Bitcoin and Ethereum through 2028. The bank ranks Ethena as the fourth-largest stablecoin issuer, behind Tether, Circle and Sky. Standard Chartered said USDe was the fastest stablecoin to reach a $10 billion market capitalization. Yield-bearing stablecoins make up about 5% of the total stablecoin market. Standard Chartered expects that share to grow as users seek returns alongside stablecoin utility. The bank projects that USDe supply could reach $40 billion by the end of 2028. USDe initially relied on the crypto basis trade and has expanded into real-world assets and equity perpetual futures strategies. Ethena's buyback-and-burn program directs 95% of net revenue toward buying and burning ENA tokens. Standard Chartered argues that a larger USDe supply would generate more revenue for buybacks, reducing ENA supply as demand grows. The bank identified slower adoption of yield-bearing stablecoins as the main risk to its forecast. Standard Chartered also warned that weaker-than-expected growth in tokenized real-world assets could limit USDe's backing assets and yield strategies. ENA rose 8% on Wednesday after touching $0.2807, extending a reversal from August lows near $0.08. ENA traded near the upper Bollinger Band at $0.3014 and above every major exponential moving average. Some cooling appears likely because ENA's price has risen above the bands. The $0.28 to $0.30 range is a resistance zone, while the 20-day exponential moving average at $0.22 is the closest dynamic support.