Ethereum Savior? BitMine’s Thomas Lee Drops $1B ETH Bomb—Market Braces for Impact

Wall Street's crypto crusader just went all-in on ETH. BitMine co-founder Thomas Lee—fresh off predicting Ethereum's 2024 rally—plows $1 billion into the asset, triggering whispers of 'institutional FOMO.'

The move comes as ETH struggles to reclaim its 2021 highs, with skeptics calling it 'VCs playing hot potato with retail bags.' Lee's track record suggests otherwise—his fund outperformed Bitcoin by 37% last cycle.

Market makers are scrambling. Liquidations spiked 18% within an hour of the news. 'This isn't your uncle's HODL strategy,' quips one OTC trader. 'That's hedge-fund conviction at institutional scale.'

Meanwhile, crypto Twitter oscillates between euphoria and existential dread. 'Finally, someone who gets it!' tweets a pseudonymous dev. 'Great, now we're dependent on TradFi whales,' fires back a DeFi founder.

The punchline? Lee's billion-dollar bet amounts to just 0.3% of ETH's circulating supply—a rounding error for BlackRock, but enough to send crypto media into hyperdrive. Classic finance: throw money at problems until they become someone else's.

Ethereum frontman

Lee is a financial analyst, a frequent speaker on CNBC, and the CIO at wealth management firm Fundstrat, which he co-founded.

He also has a background at JPMorgan and regularly appears in financial publications.

What is more important when discussing Lee’s impact on Ethereum is that last month, he was named chairman of a Nasdaq-traded Bitcoin mining company, BitMine Immersion Technology. The company promptly set up a high-scale Ethereum treasury enterprise upon Lee’s arrival, and he became the venture’s frontman.

The news of Lee securing the position and the announcement of the Ethereum pivot were accompanied by a significant spike in BitMine stock (BMNR) price, which ROSE from $4 to $48 within several days. On July 3, the price briefly crossed the $160 mark.

Lee is a prominent crypto supporter with a strong reputation on Wall Street, so having him oversee an Ethereum treasury was seen as the potential driver of the ETH recovery.

$1 billion worth of ETH in seven days

Lee is seemingly following in the footsteps of MicroStrategy (Strategy) co-founder Michael Saylor, who managed to accumulate over 600,000 bitcoins within five years, making it the biggest BTC treasury in the world.

In contrast, Lee is betting on ETH — now the main value metric of BMNR. 

6/ $MSTR has shown, buying tokens

– increased tokens/share $BMNR by 7th day (post-initial closing)
– acquired $1 billion of ETH
– MSTR acquired $250 million in same timeframe

That is all! pic.twitter.com/qcx1ftLWxE

To emphasize BitMine’s ambitions, it’s worth noting that the company bought $1 billion worth of ETH in seven days. Lee notes that MicroStrategy bought $250 million in Bitcoin in seven days.

The goal of BitMine is to buy around 6 million ETH of the 120.7 million supply. It will give BitMine a 5% stake in the asset’s network and make the company the second-largest ETH holder (and staker) after Lido, which currently holds 9,100,000 ETH.

JUST IN: 🇺🇸 Publicly traded BitMine Immersion now holds $1 billion of $ETH in its treasury. pic.twitter.com/1I7BcUaqXk

Various big companies bring in cash to invest in BitMine, boosting its potential for further allocation of Ethereum. The list includes MOZAYYX, Pantera, FalconX, Kraken, and others.

Why did Lee choose Ethereum?

Bitcoin has established a solid reputation as an asset that appreciates in value over the long term. As bitcoin enthusiasts put it, “no one ever lost money after holding Bitcoin for four years.” Bitcoin’s scarcity and decentralization have made it an asset sought after by corporations, nations, financial institutions, and retail investors. 

Ethereum is a different thing. Although it has been the second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap for most of its existence since its launch, its price has been stagnant, especially in comparison to the cost of Bitcoin, and the progress on network updates has often been criticized. The Ethereum Foundation was scrutinized for selling Ethereum. And in 2024, Solana became a prominent competitor of Ethereum.

Just as Saylor was among the early adopters of Bitcoin, Lee wants to be among the first to accumulate Ethereum, before anyone else. The digital asset’s role as a backbone for a vast stablecoin market, combined with the rising trend of tokenization, will only enhance Ethereum’s prominence. Currently, it’s the biggest platform fit for building and hosting tokens. 

Tom Lee: Ethereum is the next big crypto play pic.twitter.com/tTYymRQVpO

Lee says that these days, stablecoins are experiencing the “ChatGPT moment” in cryptocurrencies, so he’s hopeful that the viral popularity of stablecoins will boost Ethereum’s growth. The GENIUS Act, signed by President TRUMP on July 18, and Circle’s IPO will foster the adoption and popularization of stablecoins. 

Furthermore, Lee cites Mastercard’s and various banks’ interest in stablecoins as a catalyst for Ethereum. In a CNBC interview on June 30, Lee said:

“You know, when Goldman issues a stable coin and JPMorgan does Ethereum as a LAYER one blockchain, they’re going to want to secure it by staking Ethereum. So we’re trying to get in front of that by creating a treasury.”

Lee pointed out that stablecoins are the world’s 12th-largest holder of treasuries. He believes that at some point, they’ll become the largest holder, and it’ll turn them into a tool to maintain the USD’s global dominance. Additionally, Lee notes that the growing stablecoin market will generate numerous transaction fees for his enterprise.

It’s worth saying that Lee is not the only prominent figure working for BitMine. On July 16, it was revealed that billionaire Peter Thiel, co-founder of Palantir and PayPal, holds a 9% stake in BitMine. Several other Ethereum treasuries have already emerged, while Ethereum ETF inflows soar.

Is this Peter Thiel buying a 9.1% stake in @fundstrat's ETH Treasury company 🤯

i have not been bullish enough pic.twitter.com/qHUiq6KE3g

The future of Ethereum

Generally, it’s not accurate to attribute Ether’s success solely to Lee, as it WOULD not be accurate to attribute Bitcoin’s growth to Michael Saylor’s activity when there are significant players like BlackRock on the field. So, Lee is rather a “Saylor of Ethereum” than “savior of Ethereum.” 

There’s no way to determine if Lee’s bet on Ethereum is worthwhile; in the past, he has made various predictions that have proven correct, but only time will tell if he’s right about Ether.