Lee also forecasted that ETH could reach $60,000 by 2030, representing an approximately 1,510% increase from its current price of $3,727.
Ethereum May Challenge Bitcoin’s Market Leadership
In an interview on Thursday with ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood and Brett Winton, Lee drew a historical parallel to explain why he believes Ethereum could eventually overtake Bitcoin in market capitalization.
In 1971, the United States abandoned the gold standard. While this initially boosted gold prices as investors sought safety in tangible assets, Wall Street’s innovations — such as money market funds, mortgage-backed securities, and other financial instruments — ultimately reshaped global markets and solidified the dollar’s dominance. Over time, the dollar-based financial system outgrew gold, which remained valuable but static.
“In 1971, the dollar became completely synthetic since it was no longer backed by anything, and there was a real risk that the world could move away from the dollar standard. That’s when Wall Street stepped in, creating products that spread the future of Wall Street. By the end of that period, the dollar’s dominance rose from 27% of GDP to 57% of central bank reserves and 80% of financial transaction quotas,” Lee explained.
Lee suggested that a similar dynamic is now playing out in crypto. Bitcoin functions as digital gold — a pure store of value — while Ethereum represents the infrastructure for the next wave of financial products and tokenized assets.
“By 2025, we think everything will be tokenized — not just moving dollars to the blockchain as stablecoins, but also stocks and real estate. The dollar’s dominance will become Ethereum’s opportunity. So, Bitcoin is digital gold, and in that world, Ethereum can surpass Bitcoin, just like Wall Street and equities surpassed gold after 1971,” Lee said.
However, Lee emphasized that this remains a “working theory.” He also noted that he remains bullish on Bitcoin, projecting its long-term fair value between $1.5 million and $2.1 million.
In the near term, he predicts Bitcoin at $200,000 and Ethereum between $10,000 and $12,000, underscoring his confidence in both assets.
Ethereum’s Developer Growth Strengthens Its “Flippening” Potential
While Ethereum still trails Bitcoin in total market capitalization, it has already surpassed it in one key area: developer activity.
The Ethereum Foundation highlighted that between January and September 2025, 16,181 new developers joined its ecosystem.
Solana followed with 11,534 developers, while Bitcoin attracted 7,494 in the same period.
“By a wide margin, new developers entering crypto are choosing the Ethereum ecosystem. In 2025, Ethereum still hosts the largest developer community of any blockchain,” the report noted.
As adoption expands and smart contract innovation continues, Ethereum’s platform dominance grows stronger. Whether Ethereum will overtake Bitcoin in market capitalization remains uncertain, but Lee’s forecasts — along with the ongoing influx of developers — reinforce the growing belief that programmable assets and DeFi will define the next era of global finance.
