Written by: Olivier Acuna

Translated by: AididiaoJP

Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee made the boldest ETH prediction yet: first to $5,000, then 50 times that. (Image: Olivier Acuna / CoinDesk)

Key Points

• Fundstrat's research director and Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee stated at a conference in Paris that Ethereum could eventually reach $250,000 as AI and tokenization drive significant changes in financial infrastructure.
• Bitmine recently acquired 111,942 ETH, bringing its holdings to nearly 5.4 million ETH, approximately 4.47% of the circulating supply. Lee believes enterprise validators will replace the shrinking Ethereum Foundation as the network's primary managers.
• Lee mentioned that Bitmine meets the criteria for inclusion in the Russell 1000 Index and claimed its focus on staking is far superior to directly holding spot ETH. He believes the current bearish sentiment indicates a market bottom for Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The cryptocurrency market is focusing on the wrong signals, while a significant transformation in the way global financial networks operate is quietly occurring.

During the keynote speech at the Proof of Talk conference in Paris, Fundstrat's research director and Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) Chairman Tom Lee 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 that will propel the network toward this value.

On Tuesday, the price of Ethereum fluctuated around $1,906, down 6% over the past 24 hours.

Lee's Bitmine is one of the largest corporate holders of Ethereum. The company ramped up its ETH buying power last week, completing the largest purchase of the year—acquiring 111,942 ETH (worth approximately $237 million at current prices). This increased its holdings to nearly 5.4 million ETH, about 4.47% of the circulating supply of Ethereum.

"If the argument is correct, Ethereum is about to break out of its consolidation, and the catalyst for that breakout is tokenization and AI, then I think there's probably about 50 times the upside space—significant appreciation for Ethereum. If ETH reaches this target, with Ethereum at $250,000, then Bitmine stock will be worth $5,000. Right now $18 is almost a steal."

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, machines will require an instant payment method 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 call it the 'great unification.' If you have a robotic system, you need to control it. And the blockchain is much more effective at controlling robotic behavior than traditional systems. Whether it’s identity verification, identification, or payment speed, all these perform better on crypto systems."

Due to this machine-to-machine economic model, Lee believes Ethereum will shift from a speculative digital asset to the primary global currency for payment automation computing power.

The Ethereum Foundation Gradually Losing Influence

This systemic growth is fundamentally changing the governance of the underlying blockchain network. 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—only 0.1% of the total supply.

In its place, large publicly listed companies are entering as enterprise validators to operate the network. Firms like Bitmine and Sharplink currently collectively control about 7% of the circulating Ethereum supply. These corporate treasuries no longer rely on foundation grants; instead, they generate about $500 million in rewards annually through staking to self-fund the ecosystem.

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

"Bitmine also meets the qualification criteria 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 with more than $40 trillion in assets benchmarked to the Russell 1000 must decide whether to hold Bitmine."

Lee illustrated with charts that holding shares of active enterprise validators significantly outperforms directly buying spot cryptocurrencies. In a benchmark six-month period, holding regular spot ETH yielded a return of 22%, while Bitmine's staking structure provided 500% returns for investors.

In Lee's view, the immense structural growth of enterprise staking and AI utility completely outweighs any temporary market panic. "If you are still bearish today, you are selling at the bottom," Lee concluded. "I want to emphasize again, if you are bearish on Bitcoin and Ethereum today, you are being bearish at the bottom."

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