Ethereum Selling Pressure Tied to Surging Oil Prices: Tom Lee

Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat, attributes Ethereum's (ETH) recent selling pressure to rising oil prices. According to Lee, there is an inverse correlation between ETH and oil, with the current record high being a 'big headwind' for the asset.

Oil prices have surged 66% over the past three months, climbing from $65 to above $100 per barrel due to escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate hit $108 and Brent crude reached $111 on Monday after fresh developments raised concerns over a key regional oil supply route.

Lee believes that a reversal in oil prices would lead to an ETH recovery, citing tokenization and agentic AI as structural drivers that should push ETH prices higher through 2026. Ethereum currently holds more than 60% market share in real-world asset tokenization when layer-2 networks are included.

However, other analysts caution that oil alone does not explain ETH's underperformance. Andri Fauzan Adziima, research lead at the Bitrue Research Institute, points out that ETH is facing 'multi-factor pressure,' including ETF outflows, rising exchange reserves, whale selling activity, broader risk-off sentiment, and its ongoing underperformance relative to BTC.