Tom Lee and Peter Brandt sound alarm on Bitcoin with dire 50% crash warning
TL;DR
Tom Lee and Peter Brandt point to a risk of up to a 50% correction for Bitcoin.
Peter Brandt compares BTC’s current chart to the historic 1977 soybean crash.
Despite the risk, Lee remains optimistic long-term, and his firm, BitMine, is massively accumulating Ethereum.
Bitcoin (BTC) is once again facing serious warnings from prominent market analysts. Both Tom Lee, of BitMine and Fundstrat, and veteran trader Peter Brandt, announce that the cryptocurrency could be approaching a severe 50% correction. This outlook paradoxically emerges as Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continue to attract net capital inflows.
In a recent interview, Tom Lee described Bitcoin as a “high-beta asset,” meaning it tends to amplify broader market movements. “I’m sure there will be 50% drawdowns,” Lee stated. He explained that while the S&P 500 index has seen 20% to 25% pullbacks, Bitcoin historically tends to fall approximately twice as much during periods of market weakness.
This Bitcoin crash warning contrasts with data from Farside Investors, which shows net inflows of $20 million into BTC ETFs, while Ethereum (ETH) products saw $128 million in outflows, reflecting an investor preference for Bitcoin exposure amid uncertainty.
The Echo of the 1977 Soybean Crash
Peter Brandt reinforced the cautious sentiment by drawing a parallel between Bitcoin’s current price structure and the 1977 soybean crash, when the price of that commodity plunged more than 50%.
Brandt suggests that BTC is showing a “broadening top” pattern, a technical setup that often precedes a bearish breakdown. According to his analysis, if this pattern se develops like the soybean case, Bitcoin could retrace half its value from its highs. A 50% correction from current levels (near $110,000) would send BTC back to $55,000.
Despite the short-term Bitcoin crash warning, Tom Lee maintains his long-term bullish stance, emphasizing that volatility often precedes major rallies. In fact, BitMine, Lee’s firm, added over 379,000 ETH (nearly $1.5 billion) last week, bringing its total holdings to over 3 million ETH, with the stated goal of controlling 5% of the circulating supply.
Other analysts, like one from Standard Chartered, agree on a possible short-term drop but see it as a “strong buying opportunity,” suggesting that volatility remains the defining characteristic of Bitcoin’s path to maturity.
Filed under: News - @ October 24, 2025 5:28 pm