On November 16, Tom Lee – executive chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors and chief investment officer at Fundstrat Capital – said in a post on X that ether is “beginning the same super cycle” that produced a 100x gain in bitcoin since his 2017 client recommendation.
He noted that bitcoin endured six moves greater than 50% and three greater than 75% over the past 8.5 years, arguing that the crypto’s volatility reflects markets “discounting a massive future” and that investors needed to endure through “existential moments.”
The call backfired. A prominent bitcoin influencer known as “The Bitcoin Therapist” asked what utility ether offers that “hundreds of other coins don’t,” questioning Ethereum’s moat beyond market penetration and whether traditional finance would actually run on Ethereum rails for 24/7 trading. “I would never have my assets on the ethereum blockchain,” he wrote.
Lee did not provide timing targets or valuation markers for the ether thesis, other than warning that “the path higher is not a straight line.” His comments expand on a long-held view that crypto cycles can reward patience but come with severe temporary drags.
Looking ahead, sustained growth in on-chain activity on Ethereum and its Layer-2s, along with expanded institutional use cases, will help test the thesis.
