Tom Lee says oil prices are the biggest obstacle for Ethereum

According to Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, rising oil prices since the US-Israel war have been steadily impacting the price of Ether over the past three months.

“If anyone is wondering why Ethereum is under selling pressure… for me the biggest obstacle is rising oil prices” – Lee he said on Monday in

Lee said the inverse correlation between ether prices and oil prices is at an all-time high. Oil prices rose 66% from $65 to over $100 per barrel since the start of the US-Israeli war on February 28.

They rose again on Monday as WTI crude hit $108 and Brent crude hit $111 after US President Donald Trump he said on Sunday on Truth Social, the “clock is ticking” for Iran to reach an agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz.

The prolonged war between the US and Iran may have an even greater impact on ether, which traded mainly sideways during the conflict. The selloff has accelerated over the past week, with the asset falling nearly 10% and hitting $2,100 again on Monday, down 57% from its all-time high.

Inverse correlation of ether and oil at record levels. Source: Fundstrat

The drop in oil prices will mean a revival of ETH

Lee said that a reversal in oil prices will cause ETH prices to rebound, describing the current situation as “short-term tactical noise.”

He said that the main drivers for Ether are tokenization and agentic artificial intelligence. “These structural factors already exist. That’s why we expect ETH prices to be higher in 2026.”

Related: Ethereum Foundation Hits ‘Glamsterdam’ Milestones, Designates Modern Protocol Leaders

Ethereum is the dominant network in real-world asset tokenization, with over 60% market share when layer 2 networks are included. Meanwhile, major financial institutions such as BlackRock and JPMorgan have recently launched tokenized funds on Ethereum.

The narrative of agentic AI comes from the prediction that AI payment agents cannot access bank accounts, so they will exploit crypto tokens such as ETH or stablecoins for payments.

Ether prices are subject to multi-factor pressure

However, Ether is also under pressure from other macroeconomic factors, as its correlation with risky assets means it gets hit harder during sell-offs.

Andri Fauzan Adziima, head of research at Bitrue Research Institute, told Cointelegraph on Monday that oil prices were not the only factor affecting Ether and there were “multi-factorial pressures.”

“They are one of the key dragging factors in the macroeconomy, but ETH selling pressure is also driven by ETF outflows, rising FX reserves/whaling sales, broader risk-off sentiment, and ETH’s underperformance compared to Bitcoin,” he said.