Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder Tom Lee said on Monday that Bitcoin Not peaking yet and could hit new all-time highs as soon as this month, doubled down on bullish outlook for crypto and stocks during CNBC Squawk Box appearance.
“I don’t think Bitcoin has reached its peak yet,” Lee said. “We are overly optimistic about reaching the high water mark before December, but I do believe Bitcoin can reach new all-time highs by the end of January 2026. Therefore, we should not assume that the price of Bitcoin, Ethereum or other cryptocurrencies has already peaked.”
The call, which follows a pullback in digital assets towards the end of 2025 and positions January as a potential breakout month, is a significant upgrade in Lee’s long-term cryptocurrency bull thesis. In August of this year, Lee predicted that Bitcoin would exceed $200,000 by the end of last year. Bitcoin eventually hit an all-time high of $123,233 in October and was trading around $88,500 on December 31, 2025, according to Coingecko.
Lee predicts that 2026 will be a tumultuous but ultimately constructive year for the crypto market. However, he warned that institutional repositioning could trigger near-term turmoil ahead of strength in the second half of the year.
“2026 will be a year of two halves. The first half of 2026 will likely be tough as we deal with institutional rebalancing and a ‘strategic reset’ in the cryptocurrency market, but this volatility is the basis for what we expect to be a sharp rebound in the second half,” he said.
Lee said the reset was not a sign of structural weakness but a digestion phase after years of sharp gains in risk assets.
Lee is particularly bullish on Ethereum, believing the asset is entering a multi-year expansion phase reminiscent of Bitcoin’s 2017-2021 run. Last year, he said that Ethereum price would reach an all-time high of $15,000 by December. The cryptocurrency peaked at $4,830 in 2025 and was trading around $3,300 in December. In an appearance on Monday, he demonstrated his continued bullish stance on ETH, with his cryptocurrency mining company Bitmine Immersion Technologies acquiring more Ethereum. It now has 4.14 million.
“We believe Ethereum is significantly undervalued,” Li said. “We believe that ETH is entering a super cycle similar to Bitcoin from 2017 to 2021.”
He views ETH exposure as a balance sheet necessity rather than a speculative bet. “Acquiring assets that can appreciate 10 times or more is a strategic necessity for any modern treasury,” Lee said.
Beyond cryptocurrencies, Lee also outlined one of Wall Street’s most aggressive stock forecasts, predicting the S&P 500 will hit 7,700 by the end of 2026 on the back of strong corporate earnings.
“If you look at the fundamental strength of the U.S. economy and AI-driven productivity gains, we see the S&P hitting 7,700 by the end of 2026,” Lee said. “That is supported by the EPS story, which is far more resilient than the bears believe.”
Still, Lee views any pullback as an opportunity rather than a warning. “There’s a lot to be optimistic about in 2026.”