On Nov. 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 “embarking on that same supercycle” that produced a 100x gain in bitcoin since his 2017 client recommendation.
He noted bitcoin endured six drawdowns greater than 50% and three greater than 75% over the past 8.5 years, arguing crypto’s volatility reflects markets “discounting a massive future” and that investors had to hold through “existential moments.”
The call drew pushback. A prominent bitcoin influencer known as “The Bitcoin Therapist” asked what utility ether offers that “hundreds of other coins don’t,” questioned Ethereum’s moat beyond market penetration and whether traditional finance would actually run on Ethereum rails for 24/7 trading. “I would never want my assets on the ethereum blockchain,” he wrote.
Lee did not provide timing targets or valuation markers for the ether thesis, beyond cautioning that “the path higher is not a straight line.” His comments extend a long-running view that crypto cycles can reward patience but come with severe interim drawdowns.
Looking ahead, sustained growth in on-chain activity on Ethereum and its Layer-2s alongside expanded institutional use cases, will help test the thesis.
