"Wall Street Guru" Tom Lee predicts: Bitcoin has not yet peaked, and could hit a new high as early as January.
Although the cryptocurrency market experienced a significant correction by the end of 2025, investment research firm Fundstrat co-founder and known as the “Wall Street Oracle” Tom Lee remains confident and optimistic about this year’s market performance. He believes that Bitcoin’s upward momentum has not yet peaked, and there is a possibility of reaching new highs as early as January this year.
Looking back at Tom Lee’s past predictions, they can be described as bold and aggressive. In August of last year, he confidently stated that Bitcoin would break the $200,000 mark before the end of 2025. However, reality is always challenging. Although Bitcoin briefly reached a historic high of approximately $126,000 in October last year, the rally lacked follow-through, and by the end of 2025, it retreated to around $88,500.
Facing inaccurate forecasts, Lee stated on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday:
We admit that our previous optimistic view that Bitcoin could break its high before December was overly optimistic. But I still firmly believe that Bitcoin has not yet reached its peak, and even before the end of January 2026, we could see Bitcoin reach new highs again.
Tom Lee emphasizes that investors should not assume that Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other cryptocurrencies have already peaked. He expects the market this year to be divided into two phases: the first half will be more volatile, especially in the short term, possibly triggered by institutional rebalancing and market turbulence; but the overall structure remains bullish, and the second half is expected to strengthen. He said:
2026 will consist of two very different halves. The first half may be more challenging because we need to deal with institutional rebalancing and the “strategic reset” in the crypto market, but this volatility will set the stage for the “epic rebound” we anticipate in the second half.
He added that the so-called “reset” is not a sign of structural weakness but a necessary phase of digestion and consolidation after years of excess gains in risk assets.
Optimism for Ethereum entering a “super cycle”
Among various cryptocurrencies, Tom Lee is particularly optimistic about Ethereum. He believes Ethereum is entering a multi-year growth expansion phase, potentially replicating Bitcoin’s “long bull run” from 2017 to 2021.
In fact, Tom Lee also predicted last year that Ethereum would surge to $15,000 before December 2025, but the actual high only reached $4,830, and by the end of the year, it closed around $3,300. Nevertheless, he has not changed his stance in his latest interview:
We believe Ethereum is severely undervalued. We believe Ethereum is entering a super cycle, similar to Bitcoin’s explosive period from 2017 to 2021.
At the time of Tom Lee’s remarks, his crypto reserve company Bitmine was continuously increasing its Ethereum holdings, which now total 4.14 million ETH. In his view, holding Ethereum is not speculative but a necessary option for corporate asset allocation.
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