According to Tom Lee's bold prediction, Ethereum could surge next year.

Why does Li think Ethereum might surge in 2026?

Li's bullish view on Ethereum relies on significant economic and structural changes that he believes the market has not yet fully reflected.

Key drivers behind the prediction

• Improve liquidity conditions in the United States
  Li expects that 2026 will mark the beginning of a strong liquidity cycle, which has historically been favorable for high-growth assets like Ether.

• Supply tightening dynamics
  As long-term holders transfer Ether from trading platforms, exchange balances continue to decline. The reduced selling supply has increased upward price pressure.

• Institutional accumulation
  Large market participants have increased their holdings of Ethereum, indicating their long-term confidence.

• Weak business cycle conditions
  If traditional markets face difficulties, alternative assets with strong practicality and innovative narratives often see new demand.

Overview of Simplification Factors

The continuously evolving ecosystem of Ethereum strengthens this argument. Its infrastructure supports decentralized finance, NFT markets, stablecoins, and institutional-grade applications. Ongoing upgrades consistently improve scalability and security, making Ethereum the preferred environment for large financial institutions exploring blockchain settlements.

Tokenization: The catalyst that Li mentioned may push Ether to $62,000.

Li's core argument revolves around a transformative concept: the tokenization of real-world assets.

Tokenization allows stocks, bonds, commodities, real estate, and other financial instruments to exist in digital form on public blockchains. Its potential impact is profound.

Why Tokenization is Important

• Settlement is completed almost instantly, rather than taking several days.
• With the disappearance of the intermediary layer, costs have significantly decreased.
• Transparency increases among all participants.
• Liquidity is improved through decentralized global access.

Ethereum's mature smart contract network and developer ecosystem make it a leading candidate for large-scale tokenized asset deployment. Lee believes that even if the proportion of global financial assets migrating to the blockchain reaches 5% to 10%, it will create extraordinary value for Ethereum.

The financial system has begun to take initial measures. Pilot projects for tokenizing government bonds, real estate, and money market instruments indicate that this technology is no longer experimental. Li views this shift as a modern equivalent of the post-Bretton Woods restructuring, a fundamental transformation that could reshape global capital markets.

Is $62,000 realistic? Arguments from both sides.

There are still serious disagreements in the community about whether Ethereum can achieve Li's goals.

Summary of views

Skeptics argue

The value of Ethereum must grow five to six times, which requires significant adoption. They also emphasized regulatory uncertainty and increased competition from faster chains.

Believers Strike Back

Institutional purchases, declining exchange supply, and early tokenization infrastructure provide strong signals that Ethereum's role in the financial markets is rapidly expanding.

Moderate analysts conclude.

Even though the target of $62,000 is challenging, it seems increasingly reasonable to expect significant appreciation within the range of $15,000 to $20,000 as real-world applications expand.

Things investors should pay attention to

Regardless of whether Ethereum reaches $62,000, Li's prediction emphasizes a key point:
The value of Ethereum is increasingly related to its practicality in the real world, rather than speculation.

The integration of financial infrastructure into the network, combined with institutional adoption and the deployment of tokenized assets, suggests a long-term demand that could substantially reshape the market valuation of Ethereum.

Investors using trading platforms like Gate should pay attention to:

• Long-term utility rather than short-term speculation
• Institutions adopt indicators
• Exchange reserve level
• Tokenization growth in financial markets

Although Ethereum retains all the inherent volatility risks of cryptocurrency assets, its role in the next generation of financial systems continues to strengthen.