Key Takeaways
- Tom Lee predicts Ethereum could reach $5,500 in the next few weeks, with a year-end target as high as $12,000.
- Based on projections from Fundstrat and Mosaics, if the financial infrastructure on Ethereum develops, its network value per ETH could reach $60,000.
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Ethereum could rally to $5,500 in the coming weeks and climb as high as $10,000 to $12,000 by year-end, said Tom Lee, Managing Partner and Head of Research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, in a recent interview with crypto entrepreneur and investor Amit Kukreja.
Lee, who currently leads BitMine Immersion, the largest ETH treasury company, explained that his outlook relied on the typical strength of crypto markets in the fourth quarter.
“Most of the moving crypto does come in the fourth quarter,” he said. “If you’re up 35% year to date, well, if you’re going to be up 200%, it’s going to all happen in the next few months.”
On equities, Lee expects the S&P 500 to hit around 6,800 before 2026 if the Fed lowers rates. He warned of September’s historical weakness but stressed that every dip presents a buying opportunity.
Wall Street’s blockchain pivot makes $60,000 ETH plausible
Lee sees Ethereum as “one of the biggest macro trades over the next 10 to 15 years.” As Wall Street transitions its infrastructure onto blockchain rails, he believes that even if just 20–30% move to Ethereum, it could propel ETH to $60,000 per token.
“Wall Street doesn’t want the fastest chain or the chain with like the most bells and whistles. They want a reliable chain that they can build upon,” Lee said. “Ethereum has had zero downtime in its entire history. So to me, it’s the natural selection. And that’s what Wall Street is doing.”
“Ethereum is going to capture so much of that value. And we’re citing some work from Mosaics and from Fundstrat. But if you just think about it as payment rails moving onto Ethereum and some of the banking, you get to a network value of $60,000 per ETH,” he added.
Bitcoin may still be the “digital gold” play, but Ethereum is the underlying infrastructure, Lee said. He noted that, just as in the post-1971 market, when Wall Street outperformed gold over 15 years, investing in the infrastructure layer could deliver greater returns.
Why does BitMine want 5% of all ETH?
BitMine, under Lee’s leadership, has been actively accumulating Ethereum, increasing holdings to over 1.7 million units worth nearly $8 billion as of August 24.
Lee said that Bitmine offers a structurally superior vehicle, especially for institutions seeking scalable, actively managed Ethereum exposure. In just seven weeks, the ETH held per share rose from $4 to $39.84, a tenfold increase, while Ethereum’s price rose only 50%.
The company aims to own 5% of all Ethereum, which Lee said would provide major influence over future upgrades and Wall Street implementations.
“When you hold ETH and then you stake it, you are validating transactions as a trusted vector, and you’re getting paid for that with a staking yield. So with the $9 billion worth of ETH held today, that’s about almost $300 million of net income for Bitmine. So Bitmine is generating gap net income, pre-tax net income,” he said.
As Wall Street builds on Ethereum, through tokenized securities, stablecoins, and settlement systems, Bitmine could become a critical validator and liquidity provider, according to Lee. A 5% stake will provide leverage over protocol upgrades, trusted infrastructure services, and potentially privileged access to institutional workflows.
“And the third thing to keep in mind is that Ethereum is still generally not liked by institutions because most have bet on Bitcoin,” Lee said. “This is why Ethereum is probably falling into the most hated rally.”
“That’s why Cathie Wood says Ethereum, she thinks, is the institutional blockchain. But nobody really owns Ethereum except really retail investors. And of course, now BitMine,” he added.
Addressing concerns that raising billions in capital would dilute shareholders, Lee said Bitmine only issues shares when trading at a premium to NAV, ensuring that ETH per share increases post-raise.
If shares trade at or near NAV, Bitmine activates its $1 billion stock buyback program to prevent dilution. Since launch, Bitmine has demonstrated this model in action without degrading shareholder value, according to him.
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