Tom Lee is back with his extremely bullish predictions — traders are not happy. | Source: CCN.
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Key Takeaways
Fundstrat’s Tom Lee said Ethereum could eventually reach $250,000.
Lee believes investors are becoming bearish at the wrong time.
Regulation and institutional adoption remain key bullish catalysts.
Fundstrat’s Tom Lee told a crypto conference in Paris this week that investors bearish on Bitcoin and Ethereum were “selling at the bottom,” doubling down on a bullish outlook that it could eventually reach $250,000.
Lee’s remarks at the Proof of Talk conference on June 2 came as Bitmine purchased another 25,000 ETH worth roughly $48 million, signaling the firm’s conviction even as the price continues to drop.
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Speaking in Paris, Lee delivered his most ambitious projection yet, stating the Ethereum price could rise to $250,000 through a series of infrastructure shifts.
“If a thesis is correct and Ethereum is going to break out of this consolidation, and the consolidation breakout is tokenization and AI, you know, I think that that’s probably 50X or so—significant upside for Ethereum,” he said.
“If Etherrealize is correct, and Ethereum goes to $250,000, that values Bitmine stock at $5,000. It’s a bargain at $18,” he added.
He noted that a “reasonable” base scenario would be Ethereum’s price reaching $22,000.
Lee again reiterated how Ethereum stood to benefit disproportionately from tokenization and AI-driven infrastructure.
The Bitmine Chairman argued that as much as $300 trillion of assets could eventually be tokenized, including real estate, bonds, equities, and commodities.
“If a market is going to go to $300 trillion of asset value, Ethereum isn’t going to stay at $100 billion and $200 billion of total network value,” he said.
‘Bearish At The Bottom’
Elsewhere in the presentation, Lee again claimed that crypto markets are already in a “crypto spring,” despite major price drops in Ethereum and Bitcoin.
“I think we are already in crypto spring, and a lot of you may have lost your faith in crypto because prices haven’t gone up,” Lee said.
He claimed there had been a lot of “rage quitting in crypto” after many investors believed they were better off going for AI stocks.
“I think this is all of what you should expect at the bottom of a cycle,” he said.
Adding: “If you’re bearish today, you are bearish at the bottom for Bitcoin and Ethereum.”
“Basically it provides a legitimate framework for crypto to proliferate in the US, but also financial institutions to build.”
Lee argued that prediction markets were underestimating the chances of the legislation passing, saying he believed the odds were “much higher” than current market expectations.
He further cited a “very pro-Bitcoin, pro-crypto White House” and a favorable regulatory environment as reasons for optimism.
Traders Not Convinced on Ethereum Price
Following the circulation of Lee’s bullish Ethereum price forecasts on X, several crypto traders criticized the projections.
After months of optimism from Lee, with almost none of the predictions coming to fruition, many traders have argued they were detached from current market realities.
“Tom Lee has burned many investors these last 2 years (2025, 2026) with his calls on crypto at least,” one X user wrote.
Another user questioned the practicality of discussing extreme upside scenarios while Ethereum struggles to maintain key support levels.
“No disrespect to Tom but we need to be a bit more realistic and sensible with predictions,” the user wrote. “ETH can barely hold 2k yet he’s talking about where BMNR be with Ether at 22k, 62.5k, 250k. Let’s start with Ether 2k then 5k 10k.”
A third user wrote: “How many times he said, Eth has bottomed.”
Another described Lee as “the king of baiting retail into false hope.”
Lee’s Bullish Bitcoin Call
Lee’s bullish Ethereum forecast comes shortly after the famed analyst suggested Bitcoin could reach $2 million.
On Monday, Lee told CNBC that Bitcoin could eventually command a store-of-value premium similar to that of gold.
“The second is the umbrella value of gold,” he said.
“If Bitcoin had the same network value as gold, and gold is not as scarce as Bitcoin, that would put Bitcoin at around $2 million.”
He again reiterated that he believed many in the crypto space were ‘rage quitting’ prematurely.
“If someone asked me, is the thesis for Bitcoin or Ethereum broken, it’s absolutely not,” he said.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
