CryptoQuant: Tom Lee shouts out to the bulls! However, he was slapped in the face by his own fund Fundstrat because of the "sell-side research stance"
Tom Lee vigorously called for Bitcoin and Ethereum, but Fundstrat, the Wall Street financial strategy fund he backed, gave quite different reports. The reason for the two sets of scripts is that they have different reasons for risk control.
(Preliminary summary: When Ethereum fell below $2,800, BitMine added another 30,000 ETH positions, holding more than 3.3% of the supply)
(Background supplement: Ondo Finance teamed up with LayerZero to launch the "Securities Cross-chain Bridge": seamless transfer of tokenized stocks and ETFs, now supporting Ethereum and BSC)
The nickname has become "Crypto Forever Long" Tom Lee has repeatedly announced in interviews with financial media that Bitcoin and Ethereum will break through historical highs in January 2026. But an internal report from Fundstrat, where he works, had the exact opposite price range.
Previously, Fundstrat’s head of digital asset strategy, Sean Farrell, sent a report to paying customers, describing the first half of 2026 as a “deep retracement window.” The low points given for the three major cryptocurrencies are: BTC $60,000 to $65,000, ETH $1,800 to $2,000, and SOL $50 to $75.
The original sin of sell-side research
CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju posted an article on the X platform to explain this phenomenon. He pointed out that the role of sell-side analysts is not to predict, but to maintain transaction willingness. He commented:
Tom Lee is a staunch bull, with a long-to-short ratio of about 10 to 0. When the pullback becomes too much to ignore, the best he can do is go 9-to-1.
The problem with sell-side research is that being short means cutting off your own source of income. 10:0 This is not recklessness, but marketing instinct. Institutions have already bought hedging positions before loudly promoting them.
Tom Lee is usually a permabull, speaking at roughly a 10 to 0 bullish to bearish ratio.
When a correction seems likely, he briefly acknowledges the downside, shifting to about 9 to 1. Viewed in relative terms, that is alpha.
It is probably the fate of being in sell-side… pic.twitter.com/nsTHSTreKG
— Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) December 20, 2025
Key variables in early 2026
Sean Farrell In the report, the main reasons for the decline were the tariff controversy that may intensify in the second year of the Trump administration and risk aversion caused by the slowdown in AI investment returns. If these two forces ferment at the same time, "high beta" crypto assets will bear the brunt. The report describes the SOL price as a thermometer for market deleveraging. If it falls to around $50, it means that the leverage is basically eliminated, and institutions will increase their positions again.
It is worth noting that Fundstrat positioned this wave of retracements as "re-entry" rather than "the start of a bear market." For institutions, cash and liquidity are on hand, and low prices are the window for picking up chips. But for retail investors who enter the market at a high level, their assets may be cut in half.
So who is Tom Lee shouting to? The conclusion is simple. No matter how loud you shout, you are shouting for the organization.
