Tom Lee (BitMine): Ethereum is Wall Street’s blockchain of choice
At Korea Blockchain Week’s Impact conference, BitMine chairman Tom Lee called Ethereum a “truly neutral chain” that Wall Street will favor, adding that the White House and Congress are leaning toward it under the current administration. He linked that stance to a coming token economy for agentic AI and robots – and to BitMine’s pivot into an ETH treasury.
Lee argued that Ethereum’s neutrality – the sense that no single actor has a “fat finger” over outcomes – fits how large financial institutions operate. If Wall Street builds on‑chain, it will prefer rails viewed as neutral infrastructure rather than venues with perceived operator advantage, he said from the stage in Seoul. He added that policymakers in Washington are increasingly turning to Ethereum as they consider identity and security use cases.
Ethereum is a truly neutral chain,Lee said, adding that institutions
will only want to operate on a neutral chain.
Lee linked that view to a broader narrative: agentic AI and robotics will need programmable money and a token economy to transact autonomously, and "a lot of that will happen on Ethereum," in his telling. He referenced President Trump’s comments on “proof‑of‑human” safeguards, suggesting related building blocks are likely to be implemented on Ethereum.
At KBW 2025 in Seoul, BitMine chairman Tom Lee called Ethereum the “neutral” chain favored by Wall Street and Washington, linking it to an AI/robot token economy. Source: Instagram
He also described how that thesis informed BitMine’s own restructuring. When engineering BitMine’s transition into an Ethereum treasury vehicle, Lee said he saw the potential for a 10–15 year “super‑cycle” for ETH. Since that pivot, BitMine’s market capitalization has climbed from roughly $37.6 million in June (pre‑transition) to about $9.45 billion as of Wednesday, according to The Block’s data dashboard.
BitMine is now the largest Ethereum DAT (Digital Asset Treasury), holding about 2.15 million ETH, and the second‑largest crypto treasury overall, behind Michael Saylor’s Strategy, The Block reported. Lee said there is room for more than one ETH‑treasury company, but argued the market is already “picking winners and losers.” On trading activity, he cited daily turnover near $3.0 billion in BitMine shares versus $3.4 billion for Strategy, and estimated that the two account for ~90–95% of volume across DATs. In his view, that concentration signals where institutional demand is coalescing.
Index inclusion was another theme. As BitMine and peers mature into large‑cap equities, Lee expects passive flows to grow as major indices rebalance, which can support valuation premia by introducing a base of automatic buyers. He said that dynamic helped Strategy and could benefit BitMine on a similar timeline.
Lee remains bullish on bitcoin into year‑end, pointing to seasonal strength in the fourth quarter and what he called a dovish turn from the Federal Reserve after a largely hawkish 2025. He set BTC year‑end targets of $200,000–$250,000, and projected ETH between $10,000–$12,000, aligning with technical levels highlighted by Fundstrat’s Mark Newton. He added that ETH/BTC could revert toward prior averages or five‑year highs; using $250,000 for BTC implies ETH around $10k–$12k based on his calculations.
Looking further out, Lee said he expects ETH to make new highs and enter “real price discovery” in the $12k–$15k zone, while stressing that he doesn’t view that band as a cap. He reiterated that the combination of institutional preference for a neutral chain, pro‑crypto signals from Washington and the rise of on‑chain AI/robotic agents underpins his long‑term Ethereum thesis.
BitMine, for its part, continues to position as an ETH‑accumulation vehicle and liquidity hub within the “DAT” cohort, with Lee saying there is room for multiple firms but that institutions “really only want to buy us” today. The firm’s day‑to‑day flows and treasury disclosures, along with policy signals from D.C., will shape how that thesis is tested into the year‑end.
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