Can Ethereum Do to Bitcoin What Wall Street Once Did to Gold?

Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat and chairman of BitMine Technologies, predicts that Ethereum could “flip” Bitcoin — just as Wall Street outgrew gold’s role in the modern financial system.

The executive also forecasted that ETH could reach $60,000 by 2030, representing an approximately 1,510% increase from its current price of $3,727.

Why Ethereum Could Challenge Bitcoin’s Market Leadership

In an interview with ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood and Brett Winton on Thursday, Lee drew a historical parallel to explain why he believes Ethereum could eventually overtake Bitcoin in market value. He pointed to 1971, when the United States abandoned the gold standard. This move initially sent gold prices higher as investors sought security in a tangible asset.Nonetheless, it was Wall Street’s innovation — the creation of money market funds, mortgage-backed securities, and other financial instruments — that ultimately reshaped global markets and cemented the dollar’s dominance. Over time, equities and financial products built around the dollar grew to overshadow gold, which remained valuable but static.

“In 1971, the dollar became fully synthetic because it was no longer backed by anything, and so there was a risk that the world would go off the dollar standard. So in stepped Wall Street to create products to propagate the future of Wall Street. Dollar dominance by the end of that period went from 27% of GDP terms to 57% of central bank reserves and 80% of financial transaction quotes,” Lee detailed.

Lee suggested that a similar dynamic is now unfolding in crypto. He noted Bitcoin is the digital gold — a pristine store of value. Meanwhile, Ethereum represents the infrastructure where the next wave of financial products and tokenized assets will be built.

“In 2025, we think everything is now becoming…tokenized. So as we move not just dollars onto the blockchain, which is stablecoins, but we’ll move stocks and real estate  dollar dominance is going to be the opportunity of Ethereum. So digital gold is Bitcoin. And so in that world, we believe Ethereum could flip Bitcoin similar to how Wall Street and equities flipped gold post 71,” Lee noted

However, the executive emphasized that this remains a “working theory.” He also added that he remains bullish on Bitcoin, projecting a long-term fair value between $1.5 million and $2.1 million.

Lee also sees ETH reaching as high as $60,000 per token by the end of the decade. In the near term, he has also forecast $200,000 for Bitcoin and $10,000–$12,000 for Ethereum by the end of 2025, highlighting confidence in both assets.

Ethereum’s Developer Surge Fuels Its “Flip” Potential

While Ethereum currently trails Bitcoin in market capitalization, it has already surpassed it in one critical area: developer activity. Ethereum Foundation highlighted that 16,181 new developers joined its ecosystem between January and September 2025.

Solana followed with 11,534 developers. In addition, Bitcoin attracted 7,494 during the same period.

“By a wide margin, developers new to crypto prefer the Ethereum ecosystem. In 2025, Ethereum is still home to the largest developer ecosystem of any blockchain,” the post read.

As adoption broadens and smart contract innovation continues, Ethereum’s platform dominance expands. Whether Ethereum surpasses Bitcoin in market cap remains uncertain, but Lee’s forecasts and the ongoing developer migration highlight the growing belief that programmable assets and DeFi will define the next era in global finance.