Daily Market Pulse

Standard Chartered's Geoff Kendrick has maintained a high-conviction target of $175,000 to $250,000 for Bitcoin by the end of 2026. Despite current consolidation below $90,000, institutional positioning remains intact, with spot Bitcoin ETFs continuing to anchor long-term demand.

Ethereum developers are finalizing preparations for the "Fusaka" Hard Fork, a major platform upgrade designed to enhance scalability and reduce transaction costs for Layer-2 solutions. This technical milestone is seen as a crucial step in maintaining Ethereum's dominance in the smart contract space.

Solana is gearing up for its upcoming "Alpenglow" launch, which promises significant performance improvements and new features for decentralized applications. Analysts predict SOL will continue to gain ground as the leading smart contract alternative to Ethereum in 2026.

Major institutional players, including the Harvard Management Company and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, have officially integrated crypto ETPs into their portfolios. Total assets under management for crypto ETPs are projected to double to $400 billion by year-end.

The intersection of Artificial Intelligence and blockchain technology has emerged as one of the most high-conviction narratives of 2026. Projects focusing on decentralized AI compute and data verification are seeing a meaningful surge in both on-chain activity and institutional interest.