Tom Lee Predicts Ethereum Could Hit $60,000 Amid Rising Institutional Demand

Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat and chairman of Bitmain, predicted that Ethereum (ETH) could reach a new all-time high this year and potentially climb to $60,000 in the next few years. In an interview with Coinage, Lee discussed Ethereum's recent price performance, institutional demand, tokenization, and the broader crypto market. Ethereum had surged about 80% from its June low near $1,500 to around $2,700 by late September, despite the Federal Reserve raising interest rates in September.

Lee expects Ethereum's price to break its previous record and move above $5,000 before the end of the year. When asked if Ethereum could reach a new all-time high this year, Lee said, 'absolutely.' He also estimated that Ethereum could reach around $60,000 within a few years, based partly on its previous price cycles. Ethereum rose from below $100 at the end of 2018 to nearly $4,900 in 2021, and Lee believes a similar large move following a long period of consolidation could push ETH to $60,000. He added that Ethereum could reach around $3,000 in the near term and move well above $5,000 before the end of the year.

Despite the Federal Reserve raising its key interest rate by 25 basis points on September 16, bringing the target range to 3.75%-4%, Ethereum and other crypto assets continued to rise. Lee noted that Ethereum had fallen to around $1,500 in June before recovering to roughly $2,700 by late September, suggesting the crypto market may already be entering a new bull cycle. He also argued that the Fed could eventually move back toward a neutral policy if inflation continues to decline. Core consumer prices rose 2.4% year over year in August, down from 2.5% in July, and Lee believes underlying inflation could be closer to 2%.

Ethereum has also seen increased demand through US spot Ether exchange-traded funds. On September 22, US spot Ether ETFs recorded $162.2 million in inflows, marking their third consecutive day of positive flows. BlackRock’s Ethereum fund accounted for $88.1 million, while Fidelity’s fund added $33.6 million. Lee said the current cycle could attract a broader group of investors than previous crypto cycles, driven by tokenization, changes in crypto regulation, and the growing use of blockchain technology by financial companies. He pointed to tokenized stocks as one example of this trend, highlighting the Securities and Exchange Commission's innovation exemption on September 17 that allows certain tokenized versions of US-listed stocks to trade on blockchain networks.