Tom Lee, bitcoin bull and chief executive of Fundstrat Global Advisors, believes bitcoin will rally in coming months, driven by a breakout in the equity market.
Lee, speaking on CNBC's Fast Money program, said that tailwinds were building for bitcoin, albeit slowly. Institutions have been coming in and the technical data is looking better, he said, but bitcoin has stalled recently because the macroeconomic outlook has stalled.
In a world without trend, bitcoin doesn't go up.
Equity Markets at New Highs
However, he added, the next big catalyst is going to be a decisive breakout in the equity markets, because once equities break to an all-time high, bitcoin becomes a risk-on asset.
He cited Fundstrat research that showed over the last 10 years, the best three-or-four years for the S&P500 index of the top US stocks, coincided with the best years for bitcoin.
Bitcoin does best when the S&P500 is up by more than 15%.
Some commentators have suggested that through recent macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns, bitcoin has been acting as a store of value, or a form of digital gold – a haven asset in times of turmoil.
Lee agreed with this sentiment, calling bitcoin “ambidextrous”, as it worked equally well as both a risk-off and risk-on asset.
Featured image: Tom Lee at CryptoCompare Summit 2019
