Tom Lee: Crypto Will Be 'Really Bullish' for Next 12 Months

Tom Lee predicts a 'really bullish' crypto market over the coming year. The Wall Street strategist has strong motivation to be correct, as the firm he chairs holds ether worth roughly $5 billion less than its purchase price.

Lee serves as head of research at Fundstrat and chairs BitMine Immersion Technologies, a company that owns 5.93 million ether.

Are Crypto's Worst Days Behind It?

Lee's primary point is that the damage is already done. On October 10 last year, the threat of 100% tariffs on China triggered the biggest liquidation event crypto has ever seen, with over $19 billion in leveraged positions wiped out in a single day.

According to Lee, the leveraged capital disappeared along with the positions. He sees the bottom of crypto's four-year market cycle—a pattern traders often rely on—arriving next month.

Prices have yet to reflect this. Bitcoin is trading around $77,315, about 39% off its all-time high above $126,000 reached just days before that crash. Ether is up 3.2% over the past day, at roughly $2,533.

“I think it’s going to be a really bullish period for crypto for the next 12 months,” Lee told Wealthion.

Wall Street's $20 Trillion Bet

The larger concept is tokenization—shifting stocks, bonds, and funds to blockchains rather than relying on the outdated back-office systems used by banks. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has stated that all assets are capable of being tokenized.

Lee crunched the numbers. Moving $100 trillion in assets onto blockchain and retaining 1% yields $1.1 trillion annually in revenue. Valued similarly to a typical company, that amounts to a $20 trillion opportunity.

Lee's calculation, however, depends on those assets actually moving. Theo's chief investment officer, Iggy Ioppe, describes wrapping an asset and leaving it idle as 'tokenization theater.' BeInCrypto Research's Tokenization 2026 report found that as of May 31, only $60 billion (0.06% of 1% of the figure Lee uses) was on chain, with 56% of that value seeing no weekly transfers.

On Tuesday, Washington will vote on whether to take up the CLARITY Act, a bill that would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission authority over spot crypto markets. Lee commented that the agency already behaves as if it has that control.

What He Does Not Publicize

None of this is impartial. According to BeInCrypto's reporting this month, BitMine's ether holdings are roughly $5 billion below their cost basis. In August, Lee suggested that fear could drive Bitcoin to $150,000.

“I might just say the real question that people need to ask is do they want to be right or do they want to make money?” he posed.

Fundstrat has recommended a 2% crypto allocation for over ten years. Lee noted that in accounts that followed that advice, crypto now constitutes over 85% of the portfolio.