Tom Lee: Ethereum to Unite Wall Street and Crypto as Bitmine Amasses 5.74M ETH

Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine, reiterated his long-held view that Ethereum will become the connective infrastructure as traditional finance and crypto converge. Posting on X in response to Fundstrat's Carrie Presley—who noted she had told him six years ago that she was bullish on Ethereum—Lee said the divide between "tradfi" and crypto will ultimately fade, with Ethereum serving as the link. Bitmine's balance sheet highlights why Lee remains confident. The company reported holdings of 5,742,237 ETH, positioning it among the largest corporate Ethereum treasuries. That stake represents roughly 4.8% of Ethereum's circulating supply of about 120.7 million ETH. Bitmine said its combined crypto holdings, cash, marketable securities and other investments total around $11.1 billion. Disclosures show continued accumulation through the year. The firm added 27,084 ETH in its latest weekly purchase, lifting its treasury above 5.7 million ETH ahead of the most recent update. Bitmine also reported 206 Bitcoin, about $527 million in cash and marketable securities, and equity stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings. Lee tied Ethereum's long-term outlook to the prospect of clearer U.S. rules for digital assets. He pointed to rising optimism around the CLARITY Act, legislation intended to provide regulatory clarity, as a potential tailwind for smart-contract platforms as they become more embedded in payments and financial services. He also cited real-world activity on Ethereum layer-2 networks: companies including Shopify and Visa process USDC-related transactions using Ethereum scaling solutions, highlighting on-chain commerce and payments beyond speculation. Lee said his conviction has not changed: he expects Ethereum to be the foundational layer connecting traditional finance with the crypto economy as the two move closer together. Market snapshot: at the time of writing, Ethereum (ETH) traded around $1,800, little changed over 24 hours and up about 2.2% over the past week.