Wall Street analyst Tom Lee remains decidedly optimistic about the future of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Despite the recent price falls, he sees no structural weakness in the market. In an interview with CNBC he shares his price expectations for 2026. They are remarkably ambitious.
Ethereum price could explode through Wall Street
According to Lee, the Ethereum price could rise to $7,000 to $9,000 in the first quarter of 2026. In the longer term, he does not even rule out a price of $20,000, which represents an increase of more than 580 percent compared to the current level of approximately $2,924.
His optimism stems from the rise of tokenization. That is the digitization of real assets such as shares and real estate on the blockchain. Major parties such as BlackRock and Robinhood invest in this technology. According to Lee, Ethereum is the clear leader. That could greatly increase demand for ETH.
Bitcoin price to 200,000 dollars?
Lee also remains positive for Bitcoin. He compares the digital currency with gold, but acknowledges that BTC is currently still punished by the comparison with the precious metal. Still, he considers a rate of $200,000 in 2026 to be realistic. He attributes the recent declines to a liquidation event similar to the FTX crash in 2022. According to him, there is no fundamental weakness.
Lee argues that the current market sentiment is only temporary. He expects the long-term trend to remain upward. He calls tokenization on Wall Street one of the driving forces. According to him, this will give crypto a key role in the future financial infrastructure.
Ethereum staking is picking up again
It is striking that there is also a positive trend visible in Ethereum in the short term. For example, Dutch analyst Ted sees that for the first time in months the number of new stakers, users who lock up ETH to secure the network, exceeds the number of departures.
This increase in striking is interpreted as bullish. It indicates trust in the network. At the same time, it removes liquidity from the market, which reduces selling pressure.
Lee also remains bullish on stocks
It’s not just crypto that excites Lee. For 2025 he also recommends stocks such as Nvidia, AMD, Meta, Goldman Sachs and Arista Networks. He also calls Tesla promising, despite the recent price rally. He expects that innovations such as self-driving taxis and humanoid robots can significantly increase value in the long term.
Fed is not yet playing a leading role
As for the US central bank’s interest rate policy, Lee thinks that major changes will not take place until 2026. As long as Jerome Powell remains chairman, he believes the market will remain cautious. Only when there is clarity about his succession will investors anticipate a more flexible policy.
Source: https://newsbit.nl/tom-lee-ethereum-koers-naar-9-000-bitcoin-kan-200-000-aantikken/
