Ekowreel

For months, the crypto market has felt confusing.
Bitcoin and Ethereum were strong earlier in the year, then suddenly momentum faded. Narratives flooded in: “The four-year cycle is over,” “Crypto winter is back,” “AI stocks stole liquidity,” and so on.
But according to Tom Lee, Chairman of Bitmine, most of these explanations miss the real story.
What Really Caused the Pullback?
Bitcoin was up more than 36% before October 10. Then came one of the largest liquidation events in crypto history. What followed wasn’t a fundamental collapse — it was deleverage.
Markets don’t reset overnight. After major shocks (like FTX), it historically takes weeks before liquidity, market making, and price discovery normalize again. We are still inside that window.
This matters because price weakness driven by deleveraging is very different from price weakness driven by broken fundamentals.
Is the 4-Year Bitcoin Cycle Breaking?
The four-year Bitcoin cycle has worked remarkably well in the past — calling both tops and bottoms. But Tom Lee raises an important question:
What if the macro forces that once created that cycle no longer behave the same way?
Two indicators historically tied to Bitcoin cycles:
Copper vs Gold (industrial demand vs monetary hedging)
ISM Manufacturing Index (economic activity)
Both used to move in predictable four-year patterns. Today, they don’t.
Copper-gold ratios are no longer peaking on schedule.
ISM has remained below 50 for nearly three and a half years.
If the industrial cycle has changed, then Bitcoin may not be bound to the same old rhythm.
Bottom line: Tom Lee is not in the camp that believes Bitcoin has peaked. New highs remain very much on the table.
Why Ethereum Is Entering Its “1971 Moment”
In 1971, the U.S. dollar left the gold standard. That single event reshaped global finance and pushed Wall Street to invent entirely new financial products.
Tom Lee believes Ethereum is at a similar inflection point.
Today, we are not just tokenizing money — we are tokenizing:
StocksBondsReal estateFundsFinancial contracts
And the dominant settlement layer for this shift? Ethereum.
Most real-world asset (RWA) tokenization is already happening on Ethereum, and continued network upgrades are expanding its capacity to serve as the financial infrastructure of the future.
Even early Bitcoin developers have acknowledged that Ethereum has effectively won the smart-contract race.
Ethereum’s Price Potential: Why Ratios Matter
Ethereum has been range-bound for years — but that range is now breaking.
More importantly, the ETH/BTC ratio is showing signs of a potential structural breakout.
If:
Bitcoin moves toward $250,000Ethereum simply returns to its long-term average relative to Bitcoin
Then Ethereum valuations of $12,000+ become mathematically reasonable.
Higher ratios imply even more aggressive outcomes.
Whether those levels are reached quickly or over time, the key takeaway is this:
If tokenization defines the next financial era, Ethereum’s utility — and value — should rise alongside it.
Tokenization Is Bigger Than Fractional Ownership
Most people think tokenization means splitting assets into smaller pieces.
That’s just the beginning.
Tokenization combined with prediction markets allows:
Time-based ownership (future earnings by year)Product-specific exposureRegional exposureRevenue-stream isolation
This doesn’t replace traditional markets — it explains value more precisely.
That is the real unlock.
Final Thought
Bitcoin may be misunderstood right now.
Ethereum may be underestimated.
But if Tom Lee is right, we are not at the end of a cycle — we are at the start of a financial transition.
And markets rarely price that correctly at the beginning.
Disclaimer: This post is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research.