"Scan" into 3.86 million ETH, how firm is Tom Lee's investment logic?

When it comes to the actual actions of cryptocurrency investors, nothing illustrates the point better than the scale of their holdings. Tom Lee’s BitMine, as the world’s largest Ethereum treasury company, has already accumulated 3.86 million ETH, accounting for about 3.2% of the total supply, and plans to continue pushing toward a 5% target. This is not just a theoretical prediction but real buying with actual funds—despite price fluctuations, BitMine continues to buy large amounts of ETH, backed by a cash reserve of $1 billion and staking yields. What investment logic is hidden behind this determined action?

From Blockchain Infrastructure to the RWA Wave, Why Is ETH the Future Settlement Layer?

Tom Lee’s core belief in Ethereum’s long-term bullishness is clear: ETH is not just a digital asset but the key settlement layer for the future financial system. Whether it’s DeFi, stablecoins, NFTs, on-chain markets, or the currently most talked-about RWA (Real-World Assets on-chain), these ecosystems all rely on Ethereum as the underlying infrastructure. Especially in the RWA space, Wall Street is massively bringing bonds, stocks, and other trillion-dollar assets onto Ethereum. This is not short-term speculation but a fundamental shift in financial structure. As tokenization accelerates, demand for ETH as the dominant settlement layer will surge, driving its independent upward logic apart from Bitcoin.

Early Signals of Institutional Adoption: The Adoption Gap Between Bitcoin and Ethereum

Currently, there are about 4 million Bitcoin wallets holding over $10,000 in assets worldwide. In contrast, the number of stock and pension accounts with similar amounts is nearly 900 million—more than 200 times the gap, which clearly indicates that cryptocurrency adoption is still in its very early stages. Ethereum has natural advantages over Bitcoin: the most active developer community, the most stable network operation, and more importantly, ETH has real utility—staking yields, DeFi participation rights, etc.—making it more aligned with long-term institutional investment logic. When institutional funds truly flow in, ETH will evolve from “just a currency” to “an income-generating asset.”

The Choice of Non-Consensus Investors: Why Does BitMine Continue to “Sweep” ETH?

Tom Lee advocates the concept of “non-consensus” investing—he made 100x returns on telecom stocks in the 90s. Interestingly, many early crypto players now find this space “boring” and have turned to AI or stocks. But this precisely shows that the crypto industry is still far from mature, and the large-scale influx of capital is yet to come. Entering 2026, BitMine continues to aggressively buy ETH, reflecting investor confidence in a new wave of institutional entry. When the market reaches consensus, the real opportunities are often already gone; conversely, when most people turn away, it’s the deep-pocketed players who step in.

The Narrative Behind Price Predictions: Will ETH Explode in 2026?

Although price forecasts carry significant uncertainty, several targets proposed by Tom Lee are worth noting. He believes that if the ETH/BTC ratio returns to 0.25, ETH could reach $62,000 (an extreme scenario in a super-cycle). A more realistic 2026 target is $7,000–$9,000. If tokenization truly explodes on a large scale, ETH could surge to $20,000. The key timeframe is late 2025 / early 2026—Tom Lee considers that to be the bottom zone for ETH. While short-term volatility is inevitable, 2026 is expected to be a pivotal year for Layer 1 chains, especially ETH. Currently, ETH fluctuates around $3,000, leaving significant upside potential to reach the projected targets.

For investors, BitMine’s continuous accumulation and the underlying logic behind it may be more insightful than any price forecast. When investors managing hundreds of millions of dollars bet with real actions, they are wagering not just on the price but on the realization of the entire narrative.