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This Popular Cryptocurrency Could Soar by 177% in 2026, According to Wall Street Analyst Tom Lee

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This Popular Cryptocurrency Could Soar by 177% in 2026, According to Wall Street Analyst Tom Lee

Key Points

  • Ethereum is the leading platform for developers who want to build decentralized software applications, which are popular in areas like gaming and finance.

  • Ether, which is Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency, set a new record high during 2025, but it ended the year in the red.

  • Wall Street analyst Tom Lee thinks Ether could soar in the early stages of 2026, and he chairs a company that owns over $13 billion worth of coins.

Cryptocurrencies had a tough year in 2025, with most popular coins and tokens suffering losses. Not even the industry leaders like Bitcoin and Ethereum(CRYPTO: ETH) were spared, ending the year down 5% and 11%, respectively.

But 2026 is here, and Wall Street analyst Tom Lee recently came out with a set of very bullish forecasts. He thinks Ether, which is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, could soar to $9,000 per coin early in the year, implying a potential upside of 177% from where it’s trading as I write this.

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Lee founded Fundstrat Global Advisors, but he’s also the chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies(NYSEMKT: BMNR), which owns approximately $13.4 billion worth of Ethereum, so he certainly has some skin in the game. How realistic is his latest forecast?

Image source: Getty Images.

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What is Ethereum?

Ethereum is a platform where people develop decentralized software applications, which are increasingly popular in industries like gaming and financial services. These apps are governed by smart contracts, which are pieces of computer code that live on the Ethereum blockchain. They typically can’t be changed, so no person or company can manipulate the app’s core set of rules, ensuring it stays decentralized.

The Ethereum network itself is also completely decentralized. Instead of using one large data center, it’s hosted on thousands of nodes (computers) all over the world that store an updated copy of its blockchain. Therefore, the network won’t be compromised even if some nodes go down, and that’s how Ethereum has boasted 100% uptime over the last decade.

Ether is like the fuel that makes the Ethereum network function. Every time a person activates a smart contract by using an app, or even transfers a crypto token built on Ethereum, they incur a fee that is payable in Ether. Therefore, the larger the network grows, the more demand there is for Ether, and the more valuable the coin becomes (in theory).

Thousands of decentralized apps have been built on Ethereum so far. Uniswap, for instance, is a popular exchange where people can trade their cryptocurrencies for other cryptocurrencies. Pricing and execution is handled entirely by smart contracts with no intermediaries, creating a lightning-fast and cost-effective experience. Users don’t even need to create an account, because they can connect their crypto wallets directly to Uniswap and immediately start transacting.

How realistic is Lee’s target?

Tom Lee thinks decentralized apps will take over the financial industry, and as the largest platform of its kind, he’s betting Ethereum will lead the transition. The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, is already exploring plans to tokenize some of its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by moving them onto the blockchain, where they can trade more efficiently compared to using traditional stock exchanges.

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That is just one example suggesting Lee could eventually be right. But the growing adoption of stablecoins — many of which are built on Ethereum — is another sign. These cryptocurrencies are designed to maintain a stable value (hence their name), and they can be sent anywhere in the world practically instantly. Therefore, they are far more efficient than traditional payment rails that often take several days to move money across borders.

According to Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management, over $15 trillion in payment volume was processed using stablecoins in 2024, which was more volume than both Visa and Mastercard processed.

But could all of this send Ether soaring by 177% to $9,000 per coin in the early stages of 2026? I’m not so sure. Ether climbed to a record price of $4,946 per coin in 2025, which was a win for investors, but it was the first new high in four years. Plus, the coin has already lost 32% of its peak value, so I’m not sure if it can muster enough momentum to almost triple in value in the next few months like Lee predicts.

With that said, $9,000 per coin would give Ether a market capitalization of around $1.08 trillion, so it would still be much smaller than Bitcoin, which has a market cap of $1.85 trillion. Therefore, I wouldn’t rule out Lee’s target, especially if the decentralized revolution continues to gather momentum, but I would certainly be cautious about the timing. Plus, it’s important to remember Lee chairs the BitMine Immersion Technologies company, which owns 4.1 million Ether coins, so he has a vested interest in putting forward highly bullish targets.

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Anthony Di Pizio has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends BlackRock. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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XRP Slides Sharply as Global Tensions Trigger Broad Risk-off Selling

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XRP Slides Sharply as Global Tensions Trigger Broad Risk-off Selling
XRP slid deeper into a defensive posture as selling pressure persisted, technical indicators stayed bearish and global risk-off sentiment intensified, leaving the token pinned near range lows with traders wary of further downside amid heightened geopolitical and trade tensions.
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1 Top Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 1,000%, According to Michael Saylor | The Motley Fool

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1 Top Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 1,000%, According to Michael Saylor | The Motley Fool

The Bitcoin maximalist expects the token’s price to hit $1 million this year.

Bitcoin‘s (BTC 3.80%) price hit an all-time high of $126,210.50 on Oct. 6, 2025, but it now trades at about $90,000. The world’s top cryptocurrency pulled back nearly 30% as many investors booked profits, triggering leveraged liquidations. Geopolitical tensions, tariffs, and other macroeconomic headwinds exacerbated that selling pressure.

Nevertheless, Strategy‘s (MSTR 7.76%) Michael Saylor — who orchestrated his software company’s historic transformation into Bitcoin’s most prominent corporate investor over the past five and a half years — still expects the token’s price to soar more than 1,000% to $1,000,000 this year. Let’s see if that top Bitcoin maximalist’s bold prediction might come true.

Image source: Getty Images.

What’s the bullish case for Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is mined using the energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, which requires miners to solve cryptographic puzzles with powerful chips to earn tokens. It was initially mined with CPUs and GPUs, but its mining rewards are cut in half every four years.

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These scheduled “halvings” make it harder to mine Bitcoin profitably. Today, miners need powerful application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to produce new tokens.

Bitcoin has a maximum supply of 21 million tokens, and nearly 20 million have already been mined. However, its halvings will delay the last token’s mining until 2140. That fixed scarcity makes Bitcoin more comparable to gold, silver, and other finite commodities. Hence, the bulls claimed it could become a hedge against inflation and the devaluation of fiat currencies.

Bitcoin Stock Quote

Today’s Change

(-3.80%) $-3533.58

Current Price

$89440.00

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first spot price exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Bitcoin in early 2024, which made it easier for retail and institutional investors to gain exposure to the top cryptocurrency without a dedicated crypto wallet. Moreover, the U.S. launched its own Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for seized Bitcoins last March. El Salvador and the Central African Republic also accepted Bitcoin as legal tender for several years.

Those catalysts could transform Bitcoin into “digital gold” over the next few decades. However, Bitcoin’s market cap of $1.8 trillion is still tiny compared to gold’s $33.1 trillion.

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Why does Saylor expect Bitcoin to hit $1 million?

Based on these facts, Bitcoin’s price could rise tenfold and still be significantly less valuable than gold. Saylor, along with the industry’s other Bitcoin maximalists, expects soaring government debt to drive countries to print more money, diluting the value of their fiat currencies. That monetary expansion will drive more investors toward gold and Bitcoin.

Furthermore, the Trump Administration’s recent actions against the Federal Reserve — including an attempt to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook and a Department of Justice (DOJ) probe into Fed chief Jerome Powell — indicate it wants new leaders for the Fed who favor accelerated interest rate cuts.

Deeper interest rate cuts could stimulate the broader economy, but they’ll also weaken the U.S. dollar and possibly drive up inflation again. That shift would probably boost Bitcoin’s value.

Over the past 12 months, gold rallied nearly 60% and silver more than doubled as investors braced for the devaluation of the U.S. dollar. Yet Bitcoin’s price declined by more than 10% during the same period, as it stumbled alongside the market’s more speculative investments.

Therefore, Bitcoin might catch up to gold and silver — and generate even bigger gains — by the end of 2026 as those tailwinds kick in. However, I think it’s too ambitious to expect it to hit $1,000,000. Since Bitcoin is still broadly classified as a speculative play, it could sink much further than gold or silver during the next market crash. I’m bullish on Bitcoin’s long-term growth potential, but I’m bracing for more near-term volatility instead of expecting it to soar 1,000% this year.

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2026 Won’t Be About Cycles — Research Shows What Will Actually Drive Crypto Prices

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2026 Won’t Be About Cycles — Research Shows What Will Actually Drive Crypto Prices
Crypto markets are shedding their four-year cycle as ETFs, concentrated liquidity and investor attention reshape price discovery, with Wintermute research pointing to 2026 as the moment digital assets begin trading like global financial instruments.
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