Ethereum's role in revolutionizing traditional finance through tokenization is gaining increased attention, highlighted by a bullish outlook from Tom Lee, co-founder and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors. Lee's recent comments on CNBC's Power Lunch emphasized Ethereum's potential to reach $7,000-$9,000 by early 2026, driven by Wall Street's accelerating adoption of asset tokenization and on-chain financial activities.
Lee argues that Ethereum's investment thesis is increasingly linked to its function as essential financial infrastructure, particularly as major financial institutions explore on-chain settlements and tokenized securities. He pointed to initiatives from companies like Robinhood and BlackRock as evidence of Wall Street's growing interest in tokenization. This shift, according to Lee, could bring greater efficiency to traditional finance while simultaneously establishing tangible, real-world applications for Ether. He also suggested that deeper adoption could eventually propel Ether to $20,000.
Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), encompassing traditional financial instruments and physical assets represented on-chain, have experienced rapid growth this year, with their total market value increasing from approximately $5.6 billion at the beginning of 2025 to around $18.9 billion. Currently, Ethereum accounts for the majority of tokenized RWA value across public blockchains.
Ethereum's dominance in the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) market is significant. Data indicates that Ethereum controls a substantial portion of the market, valued at $12.5 billion, which equates to 66.6%. Since 2024, Ethereum has seen remarkable growth in RWA tokenization, increasing by 735% from $1.5 billion. The rise in stablecoin usage has also been substantial, with Ethereum recording $1.6 trillion in monthly stablecoin transaction volume as of December 21, and a stablecoin supply of $172.1 billion. This represents a 141% increase compared to the $71.3 billion seen in January 2024.
However, there are conflicting views within Fundstrat regarding the short-term outlook for cryptocurrencies. While Tom Lee remains publicly bullish, Sean Farrell, Fundstrat's head of digital asset strategy, has presented a more cautious short-term view in an internal client note. Farrell anticipates that Bitcoin could fall to $60,000 - $65,000 in the first half of 2026, citing risk management concerns and the potential for further drawdowns. This contrasts with Lee's prediction that Bitcoin could reach $250,000 within months. Lee explained that these differing views reflect different mandates: his own long-term macro bullishness versus Farrell's near-term tactical caution.
Despite the contrasting short-term outlooks, Lee has emphasized Ethereum's role in real-world asset tokenization as a key factor supporting its long-term upside. He stated that "In 2025, we're tokenizing everything — not just the dollar, but stocks, bonds and real estate," and highlighted that "Where they're building this is on Ethereum". Lee also noted that Ethereum's price had been range-bound for several years but had recently begun to break out, adding that "Ethereum at $3,000 is grossly undervalued".
While Ethereum leads in stablecoins and on-chain economic activity, Solana is recognized for its fast trading and efficiency. Rob Hadick, a general partner at Dragonfly, suggests that both blockchains can benefit from tokenization and on-chain activity without direct competition. He compares this to the social media landscape, where multiple platforms can thrive simultaneously. Hadick also noted that no single blockchain can scale enough to handle all tokenized assets and economic transactions alone. Ethereum's asset value, including stablecoins, stands at $183.7 billion, while Solana's is $15.9 billion.
