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.

According to BlockBeats news on December 21, Sean Farrell, the cryptocurrency strategy director of Fundstrat under Tom Lee, responded to claims of “discrepancy between his market views and Tom Lee's views” by stating, “Fundstrat has multiple analysts, each with their own independent research frameworks and different investment time horizons, aiming to meet the investment goals of different clients. My research primarily targets portfolios with a high allocation of crypto assets and adopts a relatively more aggressive market trading strategy. Tom Lee's research mainly serves large asset management institutions and investors who allocate 1%–5% of their assets to BTC and ETH. This type of strategy requires 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 help clients and subscribers with a high allocation of crypto assets (around 20% or more) to consistently outperform the market through active rebalancing across different cycles. My cautious views in the first half of the year reflect risk management rather than a completely bearish outlook. The current market pricing is almost perfect, but risks still exist, including government shutdowns, trade fluctuations, uncertainties in AI capital expenditures, and changes in Fed leadership, along with tightening high-yield bond spreads and low cross-asset volatility. Recent capital flows have also shown divergence. Bitcoin is currently in a “no man's land” in terms of valuation. In the long run, as large brokerages join in, ETF demand is expected to improve, but in the short term, it still faces pressures from original holders dumping, miner pressures, potential removal of MSTR from MSCI, and fund redemptions. My benchmark judgment is that there may be a rebound at the beginning of the year, followed by another pullback in the first half, providing more attractive opportunities for year-end positioning. If I judge incorrectly, 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 milder bear market.” Previously, Tom Lee stated in an interview that “Bitcoin may reach a historic high before the end of January 2026,” while Fundstrat analyst Sean Farrell mentioned in a report on the 20th that “Bitcoin may fall to $60,000 to $65,000 in the first half of 2026, and Ethereum may fall to $1,800 to $2,000.”