Analysts from the Tom Lee-backed fund respond to differing views from Tom Lee: We serve different types of investors, and our strategies have different focuses.

On December 21, Sean Farrell, Head of Crypto Assets Strategy at Tom Lee's Fundstrat, responded to the statement regarding the “discrepancy between his market views and Tom Lee's views” by saying, “Fundstrat has several analysts, each with independent research frameworks and different investment time horizons, aimed at meeting various clients' investment goals. My research primarily focuses on portfolios with a high proportion of crypto assets and adopts a relatively more aggressive market trading strategy. Tom Lee's research mainly serves large fund management institutions and investors who allocate 1%–5% of their assets to BTC and ETH. Such strategies require a high degree of discipline and a long-term perspective to grasp structural (long-term) trends, in order to achieve excess returns over time. My goal is to assist clients and subscribers with a high allocation of crypto assets (approximately 20% and above) to continuously outperform the market through proactive rebalancing across different cycles. My more cautious view from the first half of the year reflects risk management rather than a complete bearish outlook. The current market pricing is almost perfect, but risks still exist, including government shutdowns, trade fluctuations, uncertainty in AI capital expenditure, and changes in Fed chairmanship, along with tightening spreads in high-yield bonds and low cross-asset volatility. Recent fund flows also show differentiation. Bitcoin is currently in a valuation “no man's land.” In the long term, as major brokerages join in, ETF demand is expected to improve, but there are still pressures from original holders selling, miner pressure, MSCI possibly removing MSTR, and fund redemptions. My benchmark judgment: a rebound may occur at the beginning of the year, followed by another pullback in the first half, providing a more attractive opportunity for year-end positioning. If I am wrong in my judgment, I prefer to wait for confirmation signals. For investors following this outlook, I still expect Bitcoin and Ethereum to challenge new historical highs before the end of the year, thus ending the traditional four-year cycle with a shorter and shallower bear market.” Previously reported, Tom Lee stated in an interview that “Bitcoin may reach a new all-time high before the end of January 2026,” while Fundstrat analyst Sean Farrell mentioned in a report on the 20th that “Bitcoin may drop to $60,000 to $65,000 in the first half of 2026, and Ethereum may drop to $1,800 to $2,000.”