New York, May 7, 2026, 14:06 EDT
Bitcoin popped back above $80,000, throwing a spotlight on Fundstrat’s Tom Lee and his fresh bull-market forecast Thursday. Lee, speaking to MarketWatch, pointed to “technical action” in the charts and described the move as a recovery phase—not just another bear bounce. “The institutional buyers are coming in,” Lee said. Over at Bollinger Capital Management, founder John Bollinger noted his bitcoin trend model had flipped positive. MarketWatch
The timing is key: fresh cash is flowing back into U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, as the cryptocurrency hangs around a price closely tracked by both retail and institutional players. Those spot bitcoin ETFs — which hold the actual tokens for investors — took in roughly $1.68 billion between May 1 and May 6. Data from Farside Investors shows that inflows cooled on Wednesday, pulling in just $46.2 million.
Bitcoin hovered close to $80,134, slipping 1.6% for the day after briefly hitting $81,670, according to market data. The $80,000 zone now stands out—part support, part proving ground—as traders weigh fresh risk against closing out earlier positions.
Bitcoin briefly touched $82,700 earlier Thursday before retreating near $80,000, according to the Economic Times. Akshat Siddhant, lead quant analyst at Mudrex, pointed to a short squeeze—traders forced to buy after betting against bitcoin—and a softer dollar as the main drivers. Delta Exchange’s Riya Sehgal attributed the bounce above $80,000 to stronger sentiment, institutional buying, and ETF inflows.
Lee argues crypto has taken most of its hits already. Back on May 3, BeInCrypto quoted him talking about a “hidden bear phase” linked to falling liquidity. Real Vision’s Raoul Pal, for his part, labeled it a “mid-cycle correction,” saying the cycle isn’t over yet. BeInCrypto
AI hype is a big part of the story. According to a Yahoo Finance piece out Thursday, Lee drew a link between crypto enthusiasm and the surge in AI-related stocks. In a May 4 filing, Bitmine Immersion Technologies noted that its chairman, Lee, expected Ethereum to gain from tokenization—putting assets or claims on the blockchain—and from AI platforms’ demand for neutral, public blockchains.
Ethereum’s place in the broader market conversation is hardly minor. Ether (ETH), now the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, was recently at $2,301.31, sliding 2.0% on the session. Lee’s Bitmine, sticking to its core thesis, has assembled a sizable Ethereum reserve for the company.
Speaking at Consensus Miami, Lee dialed back on his earlier accumulation stance. According to Stocktwits, he mentioned Bitmine could put the brakes on Ethereum buys: “I do think we’re going to slow down our pace of buying,” he said, and pointed out, “other things to be doing in crypto right now.” Stocktwits
Still, the risk can’t be shrugged off. On Tuesday, Reuters said that Strategy—the top corporate bitcoin holder—reported a $12.54 billion loss for the first quarter as the slump in bitcoin dragged on its portfolio. CEO Phong Le, though, maintained that “adoption of bitcoin continues to grow in 2026.” As of May 3, Strategy was sitting on 818,334 bitcoins. Reuters
The pressure was clear among crypto stocks. Strategy shares slid 5.5%, Coinbase dropped 3.1% in U.S. trading. Investors are left questioning if ETF demand is enough to balance out selling when overall risk appetite cools.
Right now, Lee’s outlook depends on some proof. If bitcoin notches a third month of gains, ETF inflows keep coming, and prices stay north of $80,000, the “crypto spring” narrative firms up. Slip below that level, though, and it’s just another early-cycle prediction ahead of broader market support.
