Standard Chartered sees potential for LINK to grow to $200: a bet on tokenization of real-world assets
Standard Chartered's analytical department has significantly revised its view on Chainlink (LINK), setting a target price of $200 by the end of 2030. This implies nearly a 25-fold increase from current levels, which hover around $8. Such optimism is based not on short-term market fluctuations, but on the protocol's strategic role as fundamental infrastructure for the tokenized assets (RWA) market.
In my analysis, this looks not just like a speculative forecast, but like a long-term bet that Chainlink will become the "load-bearing structure" for the entire on-chain economy. The bank's head of digital asset research, Geoff Kendrick, emphasizes that LINK is essentially the only end-to-end platform capable of supporting the full lifecycle of tokenized assets, bridging both DeFi and traditional finance (TradFi).
Key growth drivers
As real-world assets move onto the blockchain, the market will require reliable oracles for external data, secure cross-chain interoperability mechanisms, and compliance tools. Standard Chartered expects network fee generation to grow approximately 25-fold by the end of the decade. Notably, the list of Chainlink service users includes giants such as SWIFT, DTCC, Euroclear, JPMorgan, Mastercard, UBS, Fidelity, and S&P Global. These are not just clients—they are a marker of institutional recognition of the technology.
However, it is worth noting that the RWA market is already showing explosive growth: the volume of tokenized assets on lending platforms and DEXs reached $7.4 billion in the second quarter, more than triple last year's figures ($2.3 billion). This confirms the thesis that we are at the beginning of a major trend.
Risks and my assessment
Kendrick also honestly highlights three groups of risks that could disrupt this scenario:
- A slowdown in the pace of institutional tokenization due to regulatory uncertainty or macroeconomic shocks.
- Increased competition from niche providers that could capture part of the market in specific segments.
- Technical failures or configuration errors that could undermine trust in the platform.
I believe the $200 forecast looks ambitious, but it is logical within the scenario of total tokenization. Nevertheless, investors should remember: a 25-fold increase implies not only Chainlink's success, but also flawless execution across the entire ecosystem. This is a bet that infrastructure will become more important than the assets themselves, and in that scenario, LINK could indeed become one of the decade's main beneficiaries.