Tom Lee: Ethereum beats S&P 500, gold during Iran conflict

Ethereum has outperformed the S&P 500 and gold since late February amid hostilities involving Iran, the United States, and Israel, according to Fundstrat. The firm’s March report shows Ether up 17% versus the S&P 500 on a relative basis over that period, as Tom Lee urges investors to rotate from gold to cryptocurrencies.

Lee, head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors and chair of Bitmine Immersion Technologies, pointed to Fundstrat data indicating Ether has outpaced major benchmarks since late February, including Bitcoin, gold, global real estate, energy equities, and large-cap technology stocks.

In a recent video, Lee called crypto a stronger wartime store of value. ‘For the next year, I think that’s a money trade,’ he said, noting that crypto has outperformed since the conflict escalated while gold has lagged. He also flagged elevated market risk tied to geopolitics and information uncertainty. ‘There’s misinformation. Investors are risk-averse. They want to sit on the sidelines,’ Lee noted.

The call comes after a sharp downturn in digital assets since October. The crypto market has lost about $2 trillion over that stretch. Bitcoin is down roughly 45% from its October high, and Ethereum has fallen nearly 60%, while many widely traded memecoins have dropped more than 90%. Over the same period, gold and major U.S. equity indexes set record highs in early 2026.

Institutions continue to roll out Ethereum-linked products. BlackRock, which manages about $14 trillion, launched a staked Ether ETF on March 12.

Lee has been a long-time Ethereum bull and projects that Ether could eventually reach $250,000. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, where he serves as chair, purchased an additional $133 million of Ether earlier this week and now holds more than $9 billion worth, the company disclosed.

Industry researchers point to ongoing technical progress on the network. Tim Sun, a senior researcher at HashKey, said Ethereum’s thesis as an institutional-grade settlement layer remains intact, adding that recent price action reflects shifts in sentiment and risk appetite rather than a change in the core case for the network.

As of this writing, ETH traded near $2,000, up roughly 7% over the last 7 days.