Bitcoin ending May above $76,000 would confirm new bull market, Tom Lee says
The CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index closed April at $76,300, while the asset is currently trading just below $80,000. Lee said investors remain psychologically anchored to the last crypto downturn and are underestimating the strength of the current rebound. He also pointed to bullish technical signals from veteran trader John Bollinger, who recently said his trend models had turned positive on bitcoin. Adding to the bullish narrative, Lee noted that software stocks — a sector that was battered amid concerns of AI disrupting its business model and Fundstrat recently upgraded — have historically traded in close correlation with bitcoin. Since tensions escalated between the U.S. and Iran, Lee added, crypto assets have outperformed most traditional markets, with ether ETH $1,875.63 leading gains. Tokenization and AI agents driving next cycle Fueling the next bull market in crypto are two megatrends that are disrupting finance: all assets migrating onchain called tokenization and artificial intelligence (AI) agents using blockchain rails. Lee argued that AI agents are going to need money to move value autonomously, and for that they will increasingly rely on blockchain networks and tokenized financial systems. He pointed to stablecoin adoption as evidence the transition is already underway. Stablecoin transaction volumes have already surpassed Visa payments, he said, while he pointed to Grayscale's report that the $300 trillion securities market will eventually migrate to blockchain rails as tokenized assets. "The networks that host a large share of tokenized activity are going to capture the economic value," Lee said. That shift could radically reshape the economics of finance itself, he argued. Lee compared JPMorgan — projected to earn roughly $60 billion this year with 300,000 employees — to firms like stablecoin issuer Tether USDT $0.9989 and trading giant Jane Street, which generate similar profit levels with just a fraction of the workforce. Tom Lee's presentation from his keynote at Consensus 2026 in Miami (CoinDesk) Tom Lee's presentation from his keynote at Consensus 2026 in Miami (CoinDesk) "Native digital companies using blockchain as settlement eliminate a lot of processes and people," he said. In Lee's view, crypto-native financial firms could increasingly resemble the internet companies that displaced legacy media and telecom giants over the past two decades. "In 10 years, half of the largest financial institutions in the world will be native digital," he said. UPDATE (May 7, 17:01 UTC): Adds presentation slides cited by Tom Lee during his Consensus 2026 keynote. Bitcoin News Markets Consensus Miami 2026 Related Assets Ethereum $1,875.61 0.23% Bitcoin $62,907.24 0.27% Tether $0.99 0.0016% What best describes your role? 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🚨 BREAKING: President Trump Reaffirms Opposition to CBDCs 🇺🇸
President Trump stated:
🗣️ “As your President, I will NEVER allow the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency.”
🗣️ “Such a currency would give our federal government absolute control over your money.”
This statement is being viewed by many in the crypto community as a strong endorsement of financial freedom, decentralization, and the future of digital assets.
📈 Bullish sentiment for Bitcoin & the broader crypto market? 🚀
$ONE Token Drops More Than 50% After Harmony Hack According to analysts, the attacker exploited a vulnerability in Harmony’s Layer-1 blockchain and illegally minted around 4 billion ONE tokens, equal to roughly 26% of the token’s total supply. The project team is working to freeze the funds linked to the attack and fix the vulnerability. A network rollback is also being considered as a possible solution. Following the attack, $ONE fell by more than 50%. $BNB
🚨 OIL PRICES SURGE AS MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS ESCALATE! 🛢️📈
WTI has climbed to $83.66, while Brent has surged to $89.36 as rising geopolitical tensions, military actions, and the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports spark fears of a major global supply disruption. ⚠️🌍
With no diplomatic breakthrough in sight, energy markets remain on edge, and volatility could intensify in the coming days.
👀 Is Brent preparing to break above $90? The next moves in the Middle East could shape the direction of global oil prices.