Key Takeaways
- • Tom Lee, Fundstrat's chief investment officer and Bitmine's chairman, said in an interview aired on Wu Blockchain that venture capital firms regret not buying Bitcoin earlier.
- • Lee said Bitcoin rose from under $1,000 to about $80,000 over the past decade, an approximately 80x return, and cited Bitcoin at $82,000 at the time of the remarks.
- • Lee recounted dinner conversations at TOKEN2049 Singapore (October 6-7) with VC friends he met a decade ago, who said their venture returns were acceptable but that Bitcoin would have delivered far higher returns.
- • Lee said 95% of investors still have zero Bitcoin exposure, a figure he cited in July, and urged investors to maximize exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana this cycle.
Summary
Tom Lee, Fundstrat's chief investment officer and chairman of Bitmine, said in an interview aired on Wu Blockchain that venture capital firms regret not investing in Bitcoin earlier. Lee said that during the TOKEN2049 Singapore event on October 6-7, he had dinner with VC friends he had met roughly ten years ago, when he had just begun researching Bitcoin. He said Bitcoin rose from under $1,000 to about $80,000 over that period, delivering an approximately 80x return.
According to Lee's account, the VC friends acknowledged that their venture returns had been acceptable but said they wished they had invested in Bitcoin, which they believed would have produced substantially greater returns. Lee said institutional interest, including among venture investors, is growing, and that VC colleagues had hesitated when Bitcoin traded below $1,000 a decade ago. He added that even with Bitcoin at $82,000, venture capitalists regret not buying the asset earlier. These remarks are Lee's recollections of private conversations and have not been independently verified.
Lee reaffirmed his bullish stance on Bitcoin and urged investors to buy, saying a small allocation could yield substantial returns and that buying Bitcoin today still means being early. He said in July that 95% of investors still had zero Bitcoin exposure. He encouraged investors to maximize exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana during the current cycle, arguing that these Layer-1 networks will gain significant value.
According to Lee's account, the VC friends acknowledged that their venture returns had been acceptable but said they wished they had invested in Bitcoin, which they believed would have produced substantially greater returns. Lee said institutional interest, including among venture investors, is growing, and that VC colleagues had hesitated when Bitcoin traded below $1,000 a decade ago. He added that even with Bitcoin at $82,000, venture capitalists regret not buying the asset earlier. These remarks are Lee's recollections of private conversations and have not been independently verified.
Lee reaffirmed his bullish stance on Bitcoin and urged investors to buy, saying a small allocation could yield substantial returns and that buying Bitcoin today still means being early. He said in July that 95% of investors still had zero Bitcoin exposure. He encouraged investors to maximize exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana during the current cycle, arguing that these Layer-1 networks will gain significant value.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.