The chairman of Bitmine stated that DeFi and AI will drive the Ethereum network's value into the trillion-dollar level, with the current price being a "discount on future options."

Written by: Olivier Acuna

Translated by: AididiaoJP

The chairman of Bitmine, Tom Lee, has made the boldest ETH prediction so far: First to $5000, then 50 times that. (Image: Olivier Acuna / CoinDesk)

Key Points

• Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat and chairman of Bitmine, stated at a conference in Paris that as AI and tokenization drive significant changes in financial infrastructure, Ethereum could eventually reach $250,000.
• Bitmine recently purchased 111,942 ETH, increasing its holdings to nearly 5.4 million ETH, which accounts for about 4.47% of the circulating supply. Lee believes that enterprise validators will replace the increasingly diminished Ethereum Foundation as the primary managers of the network.
• Lee stated that Bitmine has met the criteria for inclusion in the Russell 1000 index and noted that its focus on staking is far superior to holding spot ETH directly. He believes the current bearish sentiment signifies the market bottom for Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The cryptocurrency market is focusing on the wrong signals, while a significant transformation in the way the global financial network operates is quietly taking place.

In the keynote address at the Proof of Talk conference in Paris, Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat and chairman of Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), told the audience that Ethereum (ETH) is undergoing significant changes that will ultimately drive its price to $250,000. Although Lee did not provide a specific timeline, he elaborated on the infrastructural shifts propelling the network towards this value.

On Tuesday, Ethereum's price fluctuated around $1,906, down 6% over 24 hours.

Lee's Bitmine is one of the largest corporate holders of Ethereum. The company increased its buying power for ETH last week, completing its largest purchase of the year—buying 111,942 ETH (currently valued at approximately $237 million). This move raised its holdings to nearly 5.4 million ETH, approximately 4.47% of Ethereum's circulating supply.

"If the argument is correct, Ethereum is about to break out of consolidation, and the catalyst for this breakout is tokenization and AI, then I think there is about a 50-fold upside—significant growth for Ethereum. If ETH achieves this target and reaches $250,000, then Bitmine stock will be valued at $5000. Right now, $18 is practically a bargain."

Trillion-Dollar Growth

Lee explained that this trillion-dollar growth will be driven by artificial intelligence. As advanced software and automated computing take over the internet, there is a need for an instant payment method between machines without relying on slow traditional bank transfers.

"Robots are about to dominate most of the traffic on the internet," Lee stated. "That’s why institutions like Andreessen Horowitz refer to it as the 'great unification.' If you have a robotic system, you have to control it. And blockchain is much more effective than traditional systems in controlling robotic behavior. Whether it is authentication, identity recognition, or payment speed, all of these perform better on crypto systems."

Due to this machine-to-machine economic model, Lee believes that Ethereum will transition from a speculative digital asset to a primary global currency for the automated computing capability of payments.

The Ethereum Foundation is Gradually Losing Influence

This systemic growth is fundamentally changing the way the underlying blockchain network is managed. Lee pointed out that the nonprofit Ethereum Foundation has been shrinking its footprint over the years, with its network holdings dropping to only 100,000 ETH—just 0.1% of the total supply.

In its place, large public companies are now entering as enterprise validators to operate the network. Companies like Bitmine and Sharplink currently control approximately 7% of the entire circulating Ethereum supply. These corporate treasuries no longer rely on foundation grants but instead generate about $500 million a year through staking to self-fund the ecosystem.

To showcase the value of this model, Lee announced a significant regulatory milestone for Bitmine—the company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the BMNR code.

"Bitmine also qualifies for inclusion in the Russell 1000 index," Lee revealed. "The inclusion date is June 26. Why is this important? The Russell 1000 is the most widely tracked index globally... All fund managers worldwide benchmarked to Russell 1000—totalling over $40 trillion—must decide whether to hold Bitmine."

Lee explained with demonstration charts that holding shares of active enterprise validators outperforms directly buying spot cryptocurrencies. Over a benchmark six-month period, the return for holding regular spot ETH is 22%, while Bitmine's staking structure has provided investors with a 500% return.

In Lee's view, the tremendous structural growth of enterprise staking and AI utility completely overshadows any temporary market panic. "If you're still bearish today, you're selling at the bottom," Lee summarized. "Let me reiterate, if you are bearish on Bitcoin and Ethereum today, you are bearish at the bottom."

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