Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder Tom Lee said Monday that bitcoin hasn’t peaked yet and could hit a new record as early as this month, doubling down on his bullish outlook for cryptocurrencies and stocks during an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
“I don’t think bitcoin has peaked yet,” Lee said.
“We were too optimistic about peaking before December, but I believe that bitcoin can reach a new all-time high by the end of January 2026. So we should not assume that the prices of bitcoin, ethereum or other cryptocurrencies have already peaked.”
The call comes after the digital asset’s late-2025 slump and positions January as a potential breakout month, a significant escalation in Lee’s long-term bullish cryptocurrency scenario. In August, Lee predicted that bitcoin would surpass $200,000 before the end of last year. Bitcoin finally reached a record high of over $126,000 in October, well below Lee’s prediction, and was trading at around $88,500 on December 31, 2025, according to CoinDesk data.
Lee predicted that 2026 will be a volatile but ultimately constructive year for crypto markets. However, he warned of short-term turbulence caused by institutional repositioning before a stronger second half, reports SEEbiz.
“2026 will be a year of two halves. The first half of 2026 could be difficult as we face institutional rebalancing and a ‘strategic reset’ in the crypto markets, but it is this volatility that sets the stage for the massive growth we expect in the second half,” he said.
According to Lee, the reset is not a sign of structural weakness, but a phase of digestion after years of outsized gains in risky assets.
Lee was particularly bullish on ether, arguing that the asset is entering a multi-year expansion phase reminiscent of bitcoin’s rise from 2017 to 2021. Last year, he said ether would reach a record $15,000 by December. And this prediction was a failure; the highest price of the cryptocurrency in 2025 was $4,830, and in December it was trading at a price of approximately $3,300. On Monday, he demonstrated his continued bullish stance on ETH, with his cryptocurrency mining firm Bitmine Immersion Technologies buying more ether. Now there are 4.14 million of them.
“Our belief is that Ethereum is dramatically undervalued,” Lee said.
“We believe ETH is entering a Bitcoin-like supercycle from 2017 to 2021.”
He framed ETH exposure as a balance sheet imperative rather than a speculative bet.
“Acquiring assets that can grow 10-fold or more is a strategic imperative for any modern treasury,” Lee said.
