Speaking with CNBC’s Brian Sullivan on “Last Call,” Lee said, “It’s a generational issue” for Millennials and Gen Z, who are more open to adopting cryptocurrency.

Sullivan told the financial analyst and strategist, “I’ve never met an investment instrument that is so polarizing… There’s people who call it fake, it’s a fraud, it’s a joke, it’s worthless. You know? Why do you think Bitcoin is so polarizing?”

“It’s a generational issue,” Lee answered.

Bitcoin Generation Gap

“You know I think in crypto they refer to sort of the legacy financial folks as Boomers, because you know, Bitcoin is really being adopted and used by both younger folks, both Millennials and Gen Z, as well as people outside the U.S. Bitcoin’s really useful to the unbanked outside the U.S.,” Lee said.

A Coinbase study found that 38% of Millennials and GenZ embraced cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and Web3 in Q4 of 2023. Meanwhile, 26% of Baby Boomers share the younger generations’ beliefs about crypto.

High-tech industry venture capitalist Tim Draper warned Millennials in 2020 that they will have to invest in Bitcoin to secure their financial future. According to CNBC, in Dec. 2021, 83% of Millennial millionaires owned cryptocurrency, and 53% of them kept half or more of their wealth in it.

Lee also mentioned a difference in worldview, “Bitcoin is bootstrapped. You know it has the Genesis block. It didn’t grow in the traditional financial system. So I think those that are used to institutional access to products first before individuals find it, to them this is an anathema.”

Tom Lee’s Bitcoin Price Prediction: $150K

But what is astounding is how far Lee predicts Millennial and GenZ investors will push Bitcoin prices this year. That is, along with some help from Boomer investors, of course.

“The old high, which was three years ago, was in a time when the Bitcoin fundamentals and the structural support all around it isn’t as strong as it is today,” Lee said.

“So I think it’s just a matter of time before that all time high fails and I think Bitcoin kind of makes that bee line back towards its long-term trendline,” the Fundstrat analyst predicted, “Which you know is probably $82,000 near-term, $150,000 before year end, and then of course much, much higher numbers in the future.”