Wall Street's "quant" publicly calls for a bull market, but internal documents suggest clients to "get out quickly"? The truth behind it is more outrageous than you think.

You may be familiar with Tom Lee, who has been vocally claiming in the media that "Ethereum is seriously undervalued" and predicting it will skyrocket to $15,000 by the end of 2025. As a star strategist from Wall Street, many people regard his words as a bellwether.
However, a recent leaked internal report has left the entire market stunned.
This internal forecast sent by the Fundstrat institution founded by Tom Lee to paying clients clearly states the exact opposite judgment in black and white: in the first half of 2026, the market will experience a significant correction. Ethereum may drop to 1800-2000 USD, and Bitcoin could test 60,000 USD. The report advises clients to: increase cash positions and patiently wait for better buying opportunities.
On one hand, founder Tom Lee passionately promotes buying at public events like CNBC and the Binance conference, while on the other hand, his own institution secretly advises paying users, "Don't buy yet, wait for the crash." This "bullish on stage, bearish behind the scenes" act is really quite disjointed.
Why can one person or one organization say two completely opposite things?
In response to the doubts, another executive from Fundstrat, Sean Farrell, stepped in to "put out the fire." His explanation was that Tom Lee's viewpoint is aimed at "traditional investors" who only plan to play with 1%-5% of their assets, serving as a "long-term strategy suggestion"; whereas the internal cautious report is a "short-term risk control strategy" for professional players heavily invested in cryptocurrencies.
This explanation seems reasonable, but in fact, it is full of loopholes.
Question 1: When Tom Lee shouted "imminent surge" and "seriously undervalued" to all the audience, he never stated "this only applies to lightly positioned long-term players." Ordinary investors would only be convinced by his title and enthusiasm, completely unaware that there is another set of "internal scripts" behind it.
Question 2: Tom Lee is still the chairman of the Ethereum treasury company BitMine. The company's core strategy is to increase its holdings of Ethereum. He continually speaks positively about ETH in public, making it hard for the market to doubt whether this is based on independent analysis or if he is promoting the business of related parties. As a certified CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst), this potential conflict of interest should have been clearly disclosed, but he has said nothing about it.
Question Three: Fundstrat's business model is to attract traffic using Tom Lee's public influence and then convert that traffic into paying subscription customers. When the publicly presented "optimistic persona" and the paid "cautious insider information" are seriously disconnected, does this count as "independent research" or "targeted marketing"?
The most terrifying aspect of this matter is that it skillfully achieved a "win-win" situation.
- Attract market attention with extremely optimistic public statements, maintain the "major bull" KOL popularity, while creating a favorable atmosphere for related businesses.
- Use internal prudent analysis services to pay clients, showcasing the value of "professionalism and risk control," and solidifying core revenue.
In the end, retail investors who blindly followed the trend attracted by public statements may have paid the price. Meanwhile, clients who paid for "insider information" were warned of the risks.
There are no gods in the investment market. When there is a dramatic contrast between a person's public statements and internal judgments, rather than questioning the market, it is better to first examine the speaker's motives and position. Behind the information often lies intricate business designs and schemes of interest. Amidst the noisy calls for orders, maintaining a clear sense of skepticism may be the best risk control.