Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Standard Chartered predicts UNI could rise from $2.70 to $100 by 2030.
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The bank expects tokenized assets on-chain to grow from $340 billion to $4 trillion.
Bank Initiates Coverage With Bullish Long-Term Outlook
Standard Chartered Bank has initiated coverage of Uniswap’s UNI token, forecasting a potential rise from roughly $2.70 today to $100 by the end of 2030 as tokenized assets increasingly migrate into decentralized finance (DeFi).
The bank believes Uniswap is uniquely positioned to benefit from the rapid expansion of tokenized assets and growing institutional participation in blockchain-based financial markets.
“I think the next opportunity for generational wealth in digital assets is going to come via the DeFi protocols,” said Geoffrey Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered.
According to Kendrick, tokenized assets on blockchain networks are expected to expand from approximately $340 billion today to $4 trillion by the end of 2028.
At the same time, the share of those assets actively used in DeFi protocols is projected to rise from 3.5% currently to 30% by 2030.
Combined with growth in crypto-native assets, these trends could increase the total value locked (TVL) across DeFi platforms to roughly $2.7 trillion by the end of the decade—about 37 times current levels.
As the leading decentralized exchange protocol, Uniswap would directly benefit from this growth through significantly larger liquidity pools and higher trading activity.
Standard Chartered Forecasts UNI at $100 by 2030
Based on its projections, Standard Chartered expects UNI to follow a steady appreciation path over the coming years:
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End-2026: $6.50
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End-2027: $20
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End-2028: $40
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End-2029: $65
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End-2030: $100
The bank also expects UNI to outperform both Bitcoin and Ether over the forecast period as decentralized finance captures a larger share of on-chain activity.
Kendrick argues that Uniswap’s valuation remains attractive compared to centralized exchange giant Coinbase despite handling comparable transaction volumes.
He believes stronger commercialization efforts and partnerships with traditional financial institutions could help narrow the valuation gap between the two companies.
“If Uniswap can commercialize enough and create significant TradFi partnerships to scale, its market cap-to-transaction fees multiple is likely to increase, narrowing the gap with Coinbase,” Kendrick said.
To illustrate the difference between the two platforms, Kendrick compared Uniswap to YouTube and Coinbase to Netflix.
Like YouTube, Uniswap provides an open infrastructure where users create and contribute liquidity. Coinbase, meanwhile, operates more like Netflix, controlling and managing its own centralized platform and services.
This decentralized model allows Uniswap to operate with lower capital requirements because users supply liquidity rather than the platform itself.
The structure also gives Uniswap advantages in trading highly similar assets such as stablecoins, liquid staking tokens, and potentially tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), areas where centralized exchanges may face limitations.
Fee Switch and Token Burns Strengthen UNI Economics
Kendrick also highlighted improvements to Uniswap’s tokenomics following the December 2025 UNIfication upgrade.
Before the upgrade, all trading fees generated on the protocol were distributed to liquidity providers. The update introduced protocol fees and automated UNI token burns, creating a direct value-accrual mechanism for token holders.
Subsequent governance proposals expanded fee collection across additional liquidity pools.
Since the implementation of the fee switch, Uniswap has generated approximately $21 million in protocol fees and burned around 5 million UNI tokens, representing an annualized burn rate of roughly 1%.
In addition, a one-time burn of 100 million UNI reduced the total token supply from 1 billion to approximately 895 million tokens. Circulating supply has also declined to around 622 million UNI.
Standard Chartered expects tokenized real-world assets to become one of the most important growth opportunities for decentralized exchanges over the coming years.
As traditional financial products move on-chain, Uniswap could compete directly with centralized platforms such as Coinbase for trading activity and liquidity.
The bank believes success in this market will depend on the protocol’s ability to forge stronger partnerships with traditional financial institutions and expand its commercial reach.
Risks Remain Despite Bullish Outlook
While optimistic about Uniswap’s future, Kendrick noted several risks that could impact the protocol’s growth trajectory.
Specialized decentralized exchanges may develop superior products tailored to specific market segments, potentially capturing market share from Uniswap.
The bank also cautioned that scaling tokenized real-world asset trading will require significant commercialization efforts and stronger institutional adoption.
Regulatory uncertainty remains a challenge, although Kendrick believes proposed U.S. legislation, such as the Clarity Act, and future guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission could provide greater certainty for the sector.
Additionally, Uniswap V4’s hook-based architecture has yet to be tested at the scale required to support the bank’s long-term growth projections.
Despite these risks, Standard Chartered sees Uniswap as one of the strongest beneficiaries of the next wave of blockchain adoption, driven by the convergence of decentralized finance and tokenized real-world assets.
