Tom Lee has reiterated one of the most aggressive Ethereum targets in the market, telling attendees at Binance Blockchain Week on 4 December that ETH could eventually trade at $62,000 as it becomes the core infrastructure for tokenized finance.

“Okay, so let me explain to you why Ethereum, now that we’ve talked about crypto, […] is the future of finance,” Lee said on stage. He framed 2025 as Ethereum’s “1971 moment,” drawing a direct analogy to when the US dollar left the gold standard and triggered a wave of financial innovation.

Lee’s Thesis For Ethereum

“In 1971, the dollar went off the gold standard. And in 1971, it galvanized Wall Street to create financial products to make sure the dollar would be the reserve currency,” Lee argued. “Well, in 2025, we’re tokenizing everything. So it’s not just the dollar that’s getting tokenized, but it’s stocks, bonds, real estate.”

In his view, this shift positions ETH as the primary settlement and execution layer for tokenized assets. “Wall Street is, again, going to take advantage of that and create products onto a smart contract platform. And where they’re building this is on Ethereum,” he said. Lee pointed to current real-world asset experiments as early evidence, noting that “the majority of this, the vast majority, is being built on Ethereum,” and adding that “Ethereum has won the smart contract war.”

Lee also stressed that ETH’s market behavior has not yet reflected that structural role. “As you know, ETH has been range bound for five years, as I’ve shaded here. But it’s begun to break out,” he told the audience, explaining why he “got very involved with Ethereum by turning Bitmine into an ETH treasury company, because we saw this breakout coming.”

The core of his valuation case is expressed through the ETH/BTC ratio. Lee expects Bitcoin to move sharply higher in the near term: “I think Bitcoin is going to get to $250,000 within a few months.” From there, he derives two key ETH scenarios.

First, if the ETH/BTC price relationship simply reverts to its historical mean, he sees substantial upside. “If ETH price ratio to Bitcoin gets back to its eight year average, that’s $12,000 for Ethereum,” he said. Second, in a more aggressive case where ETH appreciates to a quarter of Bitcoin’s price, his long-standing $62,000 target emerges: “If it gets to 0.25 relative to Bitcoin, that’s $62,000.”

TOM LEE CALLS FOR $62,000 $ETH

“I think Ethereum’s going to become the future of finance, the payment rails of the future and if it gets to .25 relative to Bitcoin that’s $62,000. Ethereum at $3,000 is grossly undervalued.” pic.twitter.com/VydvLou9IE

— CryptosRus (@CryptosR_Us) December 4, 2025

Lee links these ratios directly to the tokenization narrative. “If 2026 is about tokenization, that means Ether’s utility value should be rising. Therefore, you should watch this ratio,” he told the crowd, arguing that valuation should track growing demand for ETH blockspace and its role as “the payment rails of the future.”

He concluded with a pointed assessment of current levels: “I think Ethereum at $3,000, of course, is grossly undervalued.”

At press time, ETH traded at $3,128.

Fundstrat’s Tom Lee told attendees at Binance Blockchain Week that he believes the worst leg of the recent crypto slump is likely over and that markets may be ready for a gradual recovery. He pointed to weakening selling pressure and growing underlying activity as reasons for cautious optimism.

Market Sentiment May Be Near A Turning Point

According to Lee, mood on the street turned darker after October, with many investors showing fatigue after steady losses. He said the current selling looks closer to exhaustion than to the start of another major decline. Trading desks have cut back. Volume has thinned. Sentiment is low. Lee argued that often, when pessimism peaks, conditions for a reversal begin to form.

Bitcoin Drawdowns Are Not Uncommon

Based on reports, Bitcoin has fallen about 36% from its all-time high in the recent retreat. That size of drop has happened in prior cycles, including 2017 and 2021, and has been followed by rallies that reached new records.

“Crypto prices likely bottomed. The best years of growth are still ahead: there is 200x adoption to come.” – Tom Lee, Chairman of Bitmine pic.twitter.com/fPWbWdaosO

— Binance (@binance) December 4, 2025

Lee pointed to long-term returns for bitcoin and ether compared with some traditional assets over the last decade, saying crypto’s gains were larger. He used that history to support the idea that patient holders have been rewarded after past stress.

Tokenization Could Be A Major Story In 2026

Lee also presented tokenization as a key theme for the future. He said large institutions are preparing to move more financial products on-chain and that, if real estate joins the shift, close to a quadrillion dollars in assets could eventually be tokenized.

Stablecoins were cited as an early example of why tokenized instruments can attract demand. He suggested that a broader institutional push could add steady interest to the market over time.

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Was Highlighted As A Signal

Reports have disclosed that BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF has become one of the firm’s top fee-earning products, a fact Lee used to show growing involvement from legacy finance. That kind of institutional participation, he argued, points to deeper engagement from big players who were previously on the sidelines.

Adoption Gap Suggests Large Upside

According to Lee, only 4.4 million bitcoin wallets hold more than $10,000 in BTC, while nearly 900 million people globally have more than $10,000 in retirement savings.

He said that gap shows how early the market still is and argued that if just a fraction of those savers put money into bitcoin, adoption could expand by as much as 200 times. The figure is speculative, he acknowledged, but he used it to show the potential scale for future demand.

What This Means For Investors Now

Lee questioned whether the old four-year cycle should be used as a strict guide. He suggested recent moves were driven more by de-leveraging and structural shifts than by the halving rhythm that shaped earlier cycles.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin has been struggling to build momentum in recent weeks, and the return of cash into the system is raising questions about whether this could be the moment that changes the tone of the crypto market. That growing sense of anticipation has already started to show up in prices, with the total crypto market cap climbing more than $250 billion from its $3.016 trillion low on December 2.

What Happened: The Liquidity Injection And Why It Matters

After officially bringing its multi-year quantitative tightening (QT) program to an end, the central bank followed up with a $13.5 billion overnight repo operation, funneled through the New York Fed. Banks brought $13.5 billion in Treasuries to the Fed, the Fed accepted all of it, and instantly injected $13.5 billion of fresh reserves into the system.

The move, which is the second-largest liquidity injection since the COVID-19 crisis, effectively puts an end the steady shrinkage of bank reserves that has persisted for years, easing pressure on short-term funding markets and signaling a more accommodative liquidity environment.

The crypto market responded almost instantly. A handful of major assets began turning green within hours of the injection, with Bitcoin leading the charge with an instant break above $92,000.

The influx was visible at a macro level as well: the total crypto market cap climbed from a December 2 low of $3.016 trillion to $3.269 trillion by December 4. A gain of more than $250 billion in under 48 hours

What Investors Should Watch Next

Ending QT leads to better liquidity and often create a bullish environment for equities and other riskier investments like cryptocurrencies. However, although a single liquidity event does not guarantee a sustained multi-month rally, this injection stands out not just for its size but for what it represents. 

Related Reading: 4 Bitcoin Indicators That Led To Market Rallies In The Last 2 Years Have Returned

In a CNBC interview, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee stated that the Fed’s decision to stop QT will be a turning point for the cryptocurrency market. Lee pointed out that the last time the Fed ended QT, the market rose about 17% within three weeks.

The previous time the Fed brought quantitative tightening to a stop was in July 2019, roughly a year after it began reducing its balance sheet. In the three weeks that followed, the S&P 500 climbed about 5%. Bitcoin’s also initially rallied in the same period, but its strongest reaction came months after, towards late 2019 and early 2020.

According to on-chain tracking, BitMine added 23,773 Ether over three days as the market softened. The buying included 7,080 ETH for close to $20 million on Monday and 16,693 ETH for roughly $50 million on Saturday. Based on reports, those two transactions together pushed the firm’s recent outlay to nearly $70 million.

BitMine Steps Up Accumulation

The purchases follow a larger wave of buying from last week, when Bitwise moved 96,800 ETH for roughly $273 million. Reports have disclosed that BitMine now holds about 3.7 million Ether at an average cost of $3,008 per coin.

That puts the treasury in the red at current prices, but management appears focused on long-term targets: the firm says it is about 60% of the way toward a plan to control 5% of Ether’s supply.

The scale of that aim is unusual. Few corporate treasuries aim for a single-asset share that large. Market watchers see the moves as a clear bet that Ether will be worth substantially more over time, even if the present valuation shows paper losses. The strategy is heavy accumulation during weakness, not trading around price swings.

It seems that Tom Lee(@fundstrat)’s #Bitmine just bought another 7,080 $ETH($19.8M) 2 hours ago.https://t.co/yZbTCFm9GT pic.twitter.com/JHb3WYDa0a

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) December 2, 2025

Tom Lee’s Targets Shift Again

Meanwhile, Tom Lee, who chairs BitMine, has stepped back from earlier, bolder forecasts for Bitcoin. He previously expected Bitcoin to reach $250,000 by the end of 2025. In recent public comments he first softened that call and then said on CNBC that Bitcoin could reach a new all-time high by the end of January. Lee tied that outcome to a recovery in equities, which he said he expects.

Grayscale Research Counterpoints Cycle Fears

Grayscale Research released analysis pushing back against the idea that Bitcoin must follow the usual four-year halving cycle. The firm suggested BTC could make new highs in 2026 and urged investors to view large pullbacks as part of normal market swings.

Pricing data shows Bitcoin fell about 30% from its October peak through most of November, hitting roughly $84,000 briefly before edging back to about $86,909 as of early Tuesday, according to price feeds.

Why These Moves Matter Now

Large, coordinated buying by treasury firms can shift market psychology. When groups with deep pockets step in, some traders see it as a sign of conviction. At the same time, these entities can take months or years to reach break-even if prices stay below their average purchase levels. That dynamic makes markets more sensitive to both supply concentration and the pace of future buying.

BitMine’s on-chain activity will likely draw more attention if additional large transfers appear. Shifts in the firm’s average cost per ETH may also become a talking point, along with any new remarks from Tom Lee about his updated timeline. Analysts are already examining whether Grayscale’s stance on the halving cycle gains support from other major market participants.

Featured image from BIS Safety Software, chart from TradingView

Ethereum (ETH) has joined Bitcoin (BTC) in a notable price recovery, managing to reclaim the $3,000 mark. This resurgence could signify a pivotal moment for the altcoin, suggesting a potential new upward trend. However, investors remain divided on whether ETH may face further declines or if a year-end rebound could reignite bullish sentiment.

ETH’s December Struggles

In order to anticipate Ethereum’s probable moves in December, Alex Carchidi, an analyst at The Motley Fool, notes that this month has traditionally been a difficult month for the cryptocurrency. Since 2016, Ethereum has only concluded December higher than it started in four of the nine years studied. 

In the remaining five cases, the month ended in negative territory. The average December return throughout this span is about 7%, indicating that a strong “Santa rally” is improbable. The median performance shows a 6% drop. 

Examining the relationship between November and December reveals a more intriguing pattern. Between 2016 and 2024, when November has been weak for ETH, December often followed suit, with three out of four instances showing declines. 

The only outlier was in 2018, when Ethereum rebounded in December after a particularly harsh downturn in November. This historical context suggests that a poor performance in November could carry over into December, making a cheerful month less probable.

But while December’s performance has historically been mixed, the beginning of the year has typically shown strong potential for the Ethereum price, particularly in the first and second quarters. 

In fact, average returns tend to peak in the first quarter at around 77% and the second quarter at approximately 64%, indicating that there may still be significant growth on the horizon for the leading altcoin.

Tom Lee Foresees Ethereum Surging To $7,000 

Amidst this hypothetical scenario, Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies and a major industry advocate, predicts a bright future for Ethereum in the near and long term. 

The executive believes that the cryptocurrency could surge to $7,000 per coin heading into the first quarter of 2026, reflecting a nearly 150% price surge from its current value. 

Lee is even more optimistic about the long term, predicting that if his vision for a decentralized financial system materializes, the Ethereum price could soar by 2,090% to reach $62,000 by 2035.

After a challenging year in which ETH significantly underperformed its peers, it has shown increased resilience, especially following the recent crash in crypto prices that saw the token’s valuation drop to $2,600 last Friday. 

Currently, ETH is trading just above $3,000. While this is not bullish enough to outpace the recent crash, ETH is positioned to recover significantly if demand and capital flow back into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as the year comes to a close. 

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com