Wall Street Veteran Tom Lee Predicts Ethereum (ETH) Will Soar to $7,000-$9,000 by 2026, Driven by Tokenization Wave

A bold forecast from Wall Street veteran and Fundstrat co-founder, Tom Lee, positions Ethereum (ETH) for an explosive ascent, targeting $7,000 to $9,000 by early 2026. Lee asserts that this remarkable growth will be fueled by Wall Street’s accelerating shift towards asset tokenization and the migration of traditional financial activities onto the blockchain. As major financial institutions increasingly explore on-chain settlement and tokenized securities, Ethereum’s intrinsic value is becoming inextricably linked to its pivotal role as a foundational financial infrastructure.

Tom Lee: “Wall Street Wants to Tokenize Everything”

Lee’s conviction stems from his belief that “Wall Street wants to tokenize everything,” citing significant moves by industry giants like Robinhood and BlackRock. This paradigm shift, he argues, promises to not only enhance the efficiency of traditional finance but also firmly establish Ethereum as the indispensable backbone for real-world applications. Looking further ahead, Lee even suggests that Ethereum’s growing ubiquity could eventually propel its price to an astonishing $20,000. While also expressing strong optimism for Bitcoin, hailing it as a “true store of value” with a potential rise to $200,000 next year, Lee views Bitcoin’s recent underperformance relative to gold as merely a temporary blip.

Lee highlights Ethereum’s robust developer community, impeccable uptime record, and its status as a neutral blockchain as key attributes making it the ideal platform for institutions to tokenize a vast array of real-world assets (RWAs), from bonds to real estate. He posits that even if major players like JPMorgan opt for private blockchain solutions, third-party providers will inevitably inject substantial liquidity into Ethereum, thereby igniting a “super cycle” for ETH that could potentially eclipse Bitcoin’s performance.

This long-term bullish outlook, however, does not disregard short-term market volatility. Lee acknowledges the possibility of pullbacks, including a potential dip to $2,500 during systemic liquidations, yet he considers these fluctuations negligible when weighed against Ethereum’s monumental upside potential.

Ethereum’s Structural Advantages and Institutional Embrace

Further bolstering the bullish case for Ethereum, analysts like Christopher Perkins underscore the network’s burgeoning on-chain activity, its annual stablecoin transaction volume exceeding $50 trillion, and its decade-long operational history. These factors collectively appeal to risk-averse institutions seeking a dependable settlement layer. Recent reports from Fundstrat and Lee’s public statements consistently emphasize ETH’s structural advantages, such as the absence of miner selling pressure and a comparatively lower quantum risk than Bitcoin.

Lee’s predictions resonate with broader market trends indicating increasing institutional adoption. This includes the emergence of ETH ETFs and significant corporate treasuries accumulating Ethereum, exemplified by BitMine, which, according to CoinGecko data, has reported holding an impressive 4,066,062 ETH.

Ethereum Dominates the Exploding RWA Tokenization Market

The past year has witnessed a dramatic expansion in tokenized Real-World Assets (RWAs), traditional financial instruments, and on-chain physical assets. The total market capitalization of these assets surged from approximately $5.6 billion at the start of 2025 to an estimated $18.9 billion by year-end. [IMAGE-PLACEHOLDER-X]

Data from RWA.xyz reveals that tokenized US Treasuries lead this burgeoning sector, valued at approximately $8.5 billion, followed by commodities at around $3.4 billion. [IMAGE-PLACEHOLDER-X]

Crucially, Ethereum stands as the undisputed leader in hosting the majority of tokenized RWA value on public blockchains. As of December 2025, the network hosted over $12 billion in tokenized assets, significantly outpacing other prominent blockchains like BNB Chain, Solana, and Arbitrum. [IMAGE-PLACEHOLDER-X]

Ethereum’s dominance extends to stablecoin issuance, with approximately $170 billion in stablecoins issued on its network. This firmly entrenches its position as the primary settlement layer for on-chain USD settlement activities, a critical function for global finance.

Institutional interest in tokenized RWAs received a major boost in December when the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced its intention to tokenize a portion of the US Treasuries held by its Depository Trust Company subsidiary on the Canton network. As the operator of post-trade infrastructure for the US securities market, with its subsidiary processing roughly $3.7 trillion in securities transactions last year, DTCC’s move signals a profound shift towards blockchain adoption.

Navigating Volatility: Long-Term Vision vs. Short-Term Swings

While some internal analyses at Fundstrat suggest a potential pullback to $1,800-$2,000 in the first half of 2026 before a rebound to $4,500 by year-end, Lee’s personal targets underscore the truly transformative potential of tokenization. This monumental shift, he believes, could even reverse the ETH/BTC ratio, propelling Ethereum’s price to unprecedented levels.

Skeptics within Fundstrat acknowledge short-term downside risks. However, the overarching consensus remains that as stablecoin migration and Layer-2 scaling solutions enhance Ethereum’s efficiency, the network is poised to capture trillions in tokenized value. This trajectory validates Lee’s vision of ETH as the fundamental infrastructure of the burgeoning digital economy. Investors are advised to closely monitor improvements in liquidity and regulatory clarity for further confirmation of these trends.