Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat, said that Bitcoin still has room to run and investors will see a sharp rise in the price of Bitcoin to $150,000 by the end of the year. Lee, one of the most optimistic Bitcoin forecasters in recent years, predicts that Bitcoin is still on track to reach a value of $150,000, which would mean a 138% increase in its price from Monday.

Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat, said that Bitcoin still has room for new upside in the future, and by the end of this year, investors will see a sharp rise in the price of Bitcoin to $150,000.

Lee, one of the most bullish bitcoin forecasters in recent years, predicts that bitcoin is still on track to reach a value of $150,000, which would mean a 138% increase in its price from Monday.

That may come as a surprise to token holders, who have seen Bitcoin fall 7% over the past month, shortly after hitting an all-time high in early 2024. However, Lee said the sell-off was partly driven by concerns about payouts from Mount Gox, a cryptocurrency exchange that locked up about $9 billion worth of cryptocurrency when it declared bankruptcy a decade ago.

The trustee overseeing the exchange’s bankruptcy announced that repayments would be issued to approximately 20,000 users starting this month. Anticipation of the event has weighed on cryptocurrency prices recently, according to K33 Research. There are concerns that the distributions will lead to significant selling pressure on Bitcoin as investors cash out on huge gains since their accounts were locked out a decade ago.

But Lee said the impact of the repayments will gradually fade, and predicted that Bitcoin will rise sharply again for the rest of the year.

“Bitcoin is probably starting to feel the effects of the Mount Gox distribution in July. This has been a huge overhang for many years, but if I’m investing in crypto, knowing that one of the biggest overhangs is going to be gone in July, I think that’s a reason to expect a pretty strong rally in the second half of the year,” he said.

Other Bitcoin forecasters remain optimistic about Bitcoin this year, especially as the Federal Reserve appears ready to cut interest rates. Bitcoin prices rebounded after a brutal 2022, recovering all lost ground and setting a new all-time high of around $73,000 this year.