Fundstrat Global Advisors managing partner Tom Lee predicts Bitcoin (BTC) could surge to $150,000 within the next 12 months and potentially leap to $500,000 in the next five years.

Lee made the statement during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Jan. 10. His comments come amid significant anticipation in the financial markets concerning the SEC’s decision on spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), which is expected to come later in the day.

Bitcoin proponents have been making similar predictions for a while now, with the analysis based on a very basic supply and demand model. If Bitcoin achieves mainstream adoption, meaning it becomes the primary asset underpinning just 10% of the global market cap, its value would be in the millions since there can only ever be 21 million BTC.

Institutional money

Lee’s optimistic forecast is grounded in several key developments in the Bitcoin market. A primary factor is the growing involvement of institutional investors, which has been a bullish signal for Bitcoin throughout the past year after BlackRock threw its extremely valuable hat into the ring.

According to Lee, this institutional adoption will increase the legitimacy of Bitcoin and attract large-scale investments, boosting demand and, consequently, its price.

Lee believes that the approval of Bitcoin ETFs could unlock a new wave of demand. The introduction of ETFs would provide a streamlined and regulated pathway for a broader range of investors, particularly those in traditional financial markets, to gain exposure to Bitcoin.

This anticipated approval has the potential to substantially increase daily Bitcoin demand, according to the Fundstrat managing director.

The Halving

Lee also pointed to the upcoming Bitcoin halving as another key driver of rising prices. The halving is expected in roughly 12 weeks and will reduce the reward for mining new blocks to 3.125 BTC from 6.25 BTC. The halving effectively reduces the rate at which new BTCs are generated and cuts the selling pressure from miners in half.

The halving will decrease the supply against a backdrop of steady or increasing demand, a classic economic scenario that could lead to a price increase. The cycle has repeated four times so far without the involvement of major financial institutions, and Bitcoin proponents believe that the coming year will see Bitcoin hit new highs post-halving.

However, the coming cycle may bring trillions of dollars to Bitcoin that have been sidelined due to political or regulatory reasons since its inception if the ETFs are approved, which has caused hype to reach unprecedented levels.

Lee’s predictions echo sentiments expressed by other financial experts and crypto enthusiasts, like Anthony Scaramucci, Arthur Hayes, and Samson Mow, who have also forecasted similar rises in Bitcoin’s value driven by limited availability and increased institutional investment.

At the time of press, Bitcoin is ranked #1 by market cap and the BTC price is up 1.4% over the past 24 hours. BTC has a market capitalization of $912.72 billion with a 24-hour trading volume of $50.4 billion. Learn more about BTC ›

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Market summary

At the time of press, the global cryptocurrency market is valued at at $1.77 trillion with a 24-hour volume of $113.2 billion. Bitcoin dominance is currently at 51.59%. Learn more ›