Fundstrat's Tom Lee on why boomers are buying gold while Millennials are trading bitcoin

Episode 31 of Season 2 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Fundstrat managing partner and head of research Tom Lee.

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Bitcoin and gold have both climbed higher in recent weeks, but any correlation between the two is still too slight to take seriously, according to CoinMetrics. Fundstrat managing partner Tom Lee offered a different explanation on this week's episode of The Scoop — that boomers and Millenials are taking sides.

Lee pointed out that it's likely an older generation piling into gold with huge cash positions. For those who missed the market rally, gold likely became a more attractive position as inflation rose.

As boomers load up on gold, members of Generation X and Millenials are buying up tech stocks. As tech stocks become more attractive and cash less so with concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, the perception towards bitcoin is shifting as well, according to Lee.

"Because of coronavirus, I think we're seeing businesses essentially go cashless and therefore digital money is making it easier to understand the value of Bitcoin, which is essentially a settlement network that isn't denominated in dollars," he said.

Research from JPMorgan seems to agree with Lee. An August 4 note from the bank's strategists said Millenials seem to prefer tech stocks while older investors are selling shares and buying bonds. 

However, this doesn't mean the institutions are likely to jump in any time soon. As Bitcoin's value rises, Lee said that there might be more parallels to gold. On this week's episode, Lee broke down his other takes on current market conditions, including:

  • Why the negative impact of COVID-19 on markets has waned
  • How the virus has affected Fundstrat's so-called granny shots list, a list of easy-win stocks
  • The relationship between traditional markets and bitcoin price volatility
  •  The impact of election cycles on traditional and digital assets and how the winner will effect the market's movements
  • Why he hates being called a perma-bull

Listen to this week's episode on Apple, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts.


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