"It’s probably correct I think about 1% of the U.S. owns bitcoin and at that size it’s too small for an institution, it’s a hobby," Lee concludes.
Another barrier preventing institutional investors from entering the cryptocurrency space is a lack of infrastructure, Lee says. However, Lee believes this is due to the lack of regulatory protection. "There’s not enough legal and regulatory protection for bitcoin in the U.S. to prevent a White House executive order banning bitcoin, like nothing today would prevent bitcoin from being outlawed in the U.S."
Due to regulatory uncertainty, Lee believes institutional investors will feel they are taking on "reputational risk" for "extending it to a market that has no regulatory protection..."
Never thought I'd see Tom Lee so bearish on the fundamentals!
I always said if Tom Lee ever becomes a bear, that's the time to go all in. Well ladies and gentlemen, we've got our signal. We're probably on the verge of a major bull run now.