ARB and STRK surge as Standard Chartered targets $0.50 for Arbitrum

Arbitrum (ARB) and Starknet (STRK) tokens recorded price gains of 26% and 18% respectively on September 18, 2026, significantly outpacing Ethereum's 6.8% rise to $2,611.34. The divergence in performance stems from targeted institutional interest in the Layer-2 networks and the substantial difference in market capitalization between the assets.

Standard Chartered initiated coverage of Arbitrum on September 16 with a price target of $0.50 by the end of 2026 and $10 for 2030. The bank's outlook was influenced by the Arbitrum Expansion Program, which requires chains using Arbitrum's technology, such as the Robinhood Chain, to return 10% of their net revenue to the Arbitrum DAO. This revenue stream has already materialized, with the Arbitrum DAO reporting $6.19 million in income for the first half of 2026. Monthly revenue currently stands at approximately $5 million, a figure that is over five times previous levels.

Despite a token unlock of approximately 92.65 million ARB, representing about 1.4% of the circulating supply, on September 18, the price continued to rise. The broader market context supported this move, as Bitcoin climbed above $80,000 and the 10-year Treasury yield dropped below 5%. In contrast, Ethereum lacked a specific catalyst that week beyond its recovery above the $2,600 mark.

Starknet experienced its own distinct drivers for the price increase. The network launched a private prediction market on September 20 and released 127 million STRK on September 15, valued at roughly $3.9 million, without suffering a negative price impact. However, the network's ecosystem faced security challenges when Starknet's Nostra lending protocol suffered approximately $3.5 million in losses on September 18 due to a manipulated price feed.

The magnitude of the price swings is largely a function of market size. By September 21, Ethereum's valuation reached roughly $332 billion, dwarfing Arbitrum's approximately $1.4 billion market cap by a factor of more than 200. This disparity means that Ethereum requires tens of millions of dollars in order flow to move a small percentage, whereas smaller markets like ARB and STRK can see larger percentage changes from the same buying pressure. ARB is a governance token used for voting on updates and treasury spending, while STRK is used for transactions and staking on Starknet; neither represents direct ownership in Ethereum.

Following the initial rally, prices have adjusted. Ethereum has risen an additional 4% to trade at $2,700 as of September 21, while ARB has dipped back to around $0.20 and STRK trades near $0.049. ARB remains about 91% below its 2023 peak of $2.39, despite rising from its 2026 low of $0.07.