Respected analyst weighs in

Comments that the “venerable and elite of Wall Street” are building on the Ethereum blockchain have caught more than a little attention.

That they come from Tom Lee, the co-owner of Fundstrat, have made them even more relevant.

Lee is one of the most influential figures on Wall Street.

He made his name at JP Morgan, where he was rated one of the investment giant’s top analysts during the 15 years with the bank.

His star has only risen since starting Fundstrat, an independent financial research firm.

Though Lee does have something of a vested interest in Ethereum as chairperson of its treasury, BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), his insights still carry a lot of weight.

The $9,000 question

Lee holds the view that Ethereum can reach a Ethereum price USD target of $9,000.

He bases his forecast on growing institutional support for the platform.

To state that this is largely coming from Wall’s Street’s premier league players lends gravitas to his sentiments.

Of particular interest to Lee is a decision by Amundi, which manages $2.2 trillion in assets and is Europe’s biggest asset manager, to launch a tokenised fund on Ethereum.

In terms if the Amundi Funds Cash EUR fund, Investors have the choice to either use cash to buy the traditional share class or hold a tokenized version on Ethereum.

There is increased appetite for the latter.

This is because settlements can be made faster with tokenisation.

Another plus is that Ethereum’s blockchain is renowned for transparent record-keeping, thereby building greater investor confidence in the platform.

Amundi investors can buy the fund through stablecoin or central bank digital currency. 

Institutions on the charge

Lee is not the only one singing Ethereum’s praises in the wake of the Amundi coup.

In a post on X, Ethereum Foundation head of ecosystem James Smith pointed out that the European firm is bigger than both Fidelity’s asset management division and the Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO).

He then went on to say: “BlackRock chose Ethereum. Franklin Templeton chose Ethereum. Amundi chose Ethereum.”

His message was clear: the platform is attracting the biggest and the brightest, corroborating Lee’s take on Wall Street’s “venerable and elite”.

Some not so sure

However, not everyone is convinced.

Many believe Lee’s $9,000 price prediction is not only way off the mark, but incredibly fanciful.

They suggest that Lee and other Ethereum cheerleaders are failing to acknowledge incidents that have blotted the platform’s copybook in recent times.

The value of its ETH native token reached a new low in early November 2025 and despite rallying back, they argue enough damage had been done to create doubt among investors.

These analysts feel Ethereum has fallen too many times at the diagonal support level.

This is the price level identified in technical analysis by drawing a sloping line that connects a series of rising lows on a price chart.

Matter of fact

Despite criticism, the likes of Lee are not likely to change their mind about Ethereum’s potential.

Speculation will always occur but the fact remains that institutional backing for the platform is happening.

It is simply a question of the extent to which it can grow ETH price.

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