Fundstrat's Tom Lee expects the ETH/BTC ratio to rise substantially over the coming years, arguing that Ethereum's tailwinds will exceed those seen during the ICO boom and the NFT cycle.

According to Lee, co-founder of research and strategy firm Fundstrat Global Advisors and a closely followed market commentator, Ethereum is entering a new phase of growth, with long-term catalysts that could prove even stronger than those that powered previous market cycles. He points to the network's evolving ecosystem and increasing adoption as sources of sustained momentum over the next several years, and argues that these structural drivers may deliver stronger performance than earlier cycles fueled by token launches and NFT activity. His comments reflect a long-term outlook rather than a short-term market forecast.

ETH/BTC Ratio Could Move Higher

A key part of Lee's thesis is the ETH/BTC ratio, which measures Ethereum's performance relative to Bitcoin. Lee expects the ratio to make a sizable move higher, implying that Ethereum could outperform Bitcoin over the coming years if his outlook plays out. A rising ETH/BTC ratio is often viewed as a sign of increasing investor preference for Ethereum relative to the broader crypto market. The pairing is also one of the most-traded crypto crosses and a common benchmark for allocating between the two largest digital assets by market value.

The ratio has a cyclical history: its all-time high came in mid-2017, during the ICO boom in which token sales were largely conducted on Ethereum, and it made a lower peak in 2021 during the NFT and DeFi cycle before trending lower for much of the period since. That multi-year slide is the backdrop against which Lee is arguing that Ethereum's coming tailwinds can outpace both earlier cycles.

While the previous ICO and NFT cycles boosted activity on Ethereum, Lee believes the network's future growth drivers could have an even greater impact.

His remarks were shared by Cointelegraph on X on August 18, 2026:

NEW: Tom Lee says ETH's tailwind over the next few years will outpace prior ICO and NFT cycles, expecting the ETH/BTC ratio to make a sizable move higher. pic.twitter.com/UQgUt923EX — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) August 18, 2026

Source: Cointelegraph on X

Investors Watch Ethereum's Next Growth Phase

Lee's latest comments add to the ongoing debate over Ethereum's long-term position within the digital asset market, a debate sharpened by competition from alternative smart-contract blockchains such as Solana that have drawn users with faster and cheaper transactions. The institutional channel has widened since US-listed spot ether ETFs began trading in mid-2024, and Ethereum has run on a proof-of-stake basis since its 2022 Merge — developments investors can weigh alongside activity on the Layer-2 networks built on top of the protocol. As adoption expands and Ethereum continues to develop its ecosystem, investors will be watching whether the expected catalysts translate into stronger relative performance.

The ETH/BTC ratio will remain a closely followed metric for assessing whether Ethereum is gaining momentum against Bitcoin over the long term.