After a prolonged period of stagnation, Ethereum appears to be regaining its value. Partially, Ether’s success on the market can be attributed to the actions of Wall Street analyst Thomas Lee, who launched an Ethereum treasury after joining Bitcoin mining company BitMine. Some have even christened Lee an Ethereum savior. Who is he? Will he drag Ethereum out of crisis?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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