During a recent appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, expressed a bullish outlook on Bitcoin, predicting that it has not yet reached its peak and could achieve a new all-time high as early as this month. Lee stated, “I don’t think Bitcoin has peaked yet,” emphasizing that previous forecasts suggested it would reach a high before December, but he remains confident it could hit a new all-time high by the end of January 2026. He urged investors not to assume that Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other cryptocurrencies have already peaked.
Lee’s predictions come in the wake of a late-2025 pullback in digital asset prices, positioning January as a potentially pivotal month for cryptocurrency markets. In August, he had forecast that Bitcoin would exceed $200,000 before the end of the previous year. Ultimately, Bitcoin achieved an all-time high of $123,233 in October, but saw a decline, finishing 2025 trading around $88,500 according to Coingecko data.
Looking ahead, Lee anticipates that 2026 will be characterized by volatility but will ultimately prove to be a constructive year for the cryptocurrency landscape. However, he cautioned that the first half of the year might be challenging, primarily due to institutional repositioning and what he called a “strategic reset” in the crypto markets. He believes that this turbulence will set the stage for a stronger rally in the latter half of the year, saying, “2026 is going to be a year of two halves.”
He reassured investors that this reset should not be interpreted as a sign of structural weakness; instead, it represents a digestion phase following years of significant gains within risk assets. Lee also displayed a particularly optimistic stance toward Ethereum, suggesting that it is on the verge of a multi-year expansion phase similar to Bitcoin’s trajectory from 2017 to 2021. He had previously predicted an all-time high of $15,000 for Ethereum by December, although the asset’s highest price in 2025 was $4,830, finishing around $3,300 in December.
Continuing his bullish stance, Lee’s crypto mining firm, Bitmine Immersion Technologies, recently increased its Ethereum holdings, now owning 4.14 million ethers. He described his views on Ethereum as a balance-sheet imperative rather than merely a speculative investment, stating, “Acquiring an asset that can appreciate by 10 times or more is a strategic necessity for any modern treasury,” which reflects his belief that Ethereum is significantly undervalued.
In addition to his cryptocurrency insights, Lee offered one of Wall Street’s most aggressive forecasts for equities, predicting that the S&P 500 could surge to 7,700 by the end of 2026, driven by strong corporate earnings. He underscored the fundamental strength of the U.S. economy and highlighted the productivity gains driven by artificial intelligence, stating, “We are looking at a path to S&P 7,700 by year-end 2026,” which he believes is supported by an earnings story that is more resilient than bearish analysts anticipate.
Despite his optimistic outlook, Lee framed any pullbacks as opportunities for investors rather than alarming indicators, emphasizing, “There’s a lot to be optimistic about in 2026.”
