Crazy accumulation of 3.86 million ETH, what is the investment logic of the "brainless bull" Tom Lee?

Based on Tom Lee’s multiple interviews, his long-term core logic for being bullish on Ethereum can be summarized as follows:

1. Ethereum is the future financial infrastructure’s core settlement layer.

ETH is not only a digital currency but also the foundational infrastructure for building and operating DeFi, stablecoins, NFTs, on-chain markets, RWA, and more. Especially in the RWA sector, this will be the biggest narrative in the future. Wall Street is bringing trillions of assets (bonds/stocks, etc.) onto the Ethereum blockchain. As the dominant settlement layer, Ethereum will generate substantial demand and drive ETH’s value upward. Tokenization is not short-term speculation but a structural shift that will propel ETH into a bull market independent of BTC.

2. Institutional adoption and ecosystem maturity.

Currently, approximately 4 million BTC wallets worldwide hold over $10,000 in assets, while the number of similar stock/pension accounts globally is about 900 million—over 200 times larger. In comparison, crypto adoption is still in its early stages; Ethereum’s developer community is the strongest; and the Ethereum network operates the most stably.

Additionally, unlike BTC, ETH has real utility, such as staking yields, DeFi, and more, making it more suitable for long-term institutional holding.

3. Non-consensus opportunities.

Tom Lee has always favored “non-consensus” investments (he made 100x on telecom stocks in the 90s when he was young). Many OGs (early players) now think crypto is “boring” and are shifting to AI or stocks, but this is because they have matured, while the industry is still in its infancy—an influx of new investors is imminent.

4. Not just talk but action.

BitMine (BMNR) is the world’s largest ETH treasury company, with Tom Lee as its chairman. BitMine currently holds about 3.86 million ETH (approximately 3.2% of the total supply), aiming for 5%. By December 2025, BitMine plans to continue large-scale ETH purchases (despite price fluctuations) and has $1 billion in cash reserves plus staking yields.

(Note: 3.2% is already quite a lot; 5% is a bit more.)

Tom Lee’s price predictions (this part is not to be taken too seriously, as price forecasts are ultimately speculative):

• The most “crazy” long-term target: if the ETH/BTC ratio returns to 0.25, ETH could reach $62,000 (an extreme scenario based on a super cycle).

• A more realistic 2026 target: $7,000–$9,000 (by 2026), or even $20,000 (assuming tokenization explodes).

• He believes ETH will bottom out by the end of 2025 / early 2026, with short-term volatility possible, but 2026 will be a “big year” for Layer 1 chains (especially ETH).