Wall Street's favorite analyst just drops a bombshell

Tom Lee isn’t your average market analyst.

The co-founder and managing partner of Fundstrat Global Advisors has long held a reputation as one of Wall Street’s boldest voices — known for making out-of-consensus calls that often age like fine wine.

Lee made his name as a top equity strategist at JPMorgan before launching Fundstrat in 2014. His approach mixes data-driven technical analysis with a big-picture macroeconomic view.

Fundstrat Global Advisors is a research and advisory firm co-founded by Lee in 2014. The company specializes in market strategy, macroeconomic research, and investment insights, particularly in equities and digital assets. Known for its data-driven analysis, Fundstrat is popular among institutional investors and has become a go-to source for crypto and blockchain market commentary.

Wall Street veteran on crypto

He was one of the first prominent Wall Street figures to recognize the investment potential of Bitcoin — predicting its long-term rise even when prices were struggling below $3,000.

That track record has made Lee a favorite not just among traditional investors, but also within the crypto community.

And this time, he’s turning heads in the crypto space again.

In a new interview on CNBC, Lee said what many crypto advocates have long believed but few traditional analysts have had the courage to say out loud. Bitcoin and Ethereum aren’t just trending—they’re leading the market.

“You want to be long AI and the crypto trade because those have been the market leaders,” Lee said. “So the Mag-7, Bitcoin, [and] Ethereum. But the broadening is really the financials, industrials and small caps.”

Lee also said the S&P 500 and Dow Jones hitting new all-time highs is just the beginning. “I think there’s a lot of upside, especially because once you get an ISM (Institute for Supply Management report) back above 50, it really does argue for a broadening of markets,” he explained. “And I think one of the leaders probably comes from the financial sector. So I think towards the end of the year, 6,800-7,000 is possible.”

But the real takeaway wasn’t about stock indices. It was about how blockchain and crypto are positioned for a seismic shift.

In perhaps his boldest statement yet, Lee compared Ethereum’s current transition to Wall Street’s departure from the gold standard in 1971.

Wall Street moves to blockchain

“It’s a lot like 1971 when the US dollar went off the gold standard,” Lee said. “That created the innovation of Wall Street, because they had to sort of essentially create this synthetic dollar. Wall Street moving on to the blockchain is a bigger moment. And I think that’s why Ethereum is essentially having its 1971 moment equivalent.”

Story ContinuesThat’s no small comparison. The gold standard shift sparked a new era of monetary policy and financial engineering. If Lee’s right, Ethereum may be on the cusp of a similar transformation in finance.

The macro case for crypto, in Lee’s view, is getting stronger by the day. With institutional adoption rising, blockchain-based infrastructure maturing, and public understanding growing, the stars may be aligning.

Lee’s comments come at a time when Bitcoin and Ethereum are gaining renewed momentum. Ethereum recently surged over $4,800—up 14.25% in a single day—while Bitcoin has held strong above key support levels trading at $112,000.

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This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Aug 25, 2025, where it first appeared in the Investing section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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