During a period of stagnant crypto prices and bearish sentiment, Tom Lee, head of BitMine Immersion Technologies, has reiterated his ultra-bullish end-of-2026 target: Bitcoin above $100,000 and Ethereum above $5,000. The forecast comes even as BTC hovers just above $60,000 and ETH trades near $1,700, following a prolonged nine-month decline.
Lee sees a critical test in the coming months, noting that Bitcoin has never fallen four consecutive quarters. A bounce between June and September would validate the crypto thesis; without it, he warns the thesis could be broken. He also points to production cost as the real floor, with Bitcoin now sitting about 5% below that level.
Speaking at the WebX 2026 conference, Lee expanded on Ethereum’s long-term potential, describing smart contract blockchains as the “best defense against AI taking over your life.” He warned of a future where AI agents make financial decisions without human input, and argued that blockchain-based programmable payments, verifiable identity, and transparent execution are essential safeguards.
Lee’s Ethereum outlook is bolstered by technical analysis from Tom DeMark, showing an 89.81% correlation with the S&P 500’s 1987 recovery pattern, suggesting a rebound in August. He cited resistance between $1,846 and $1,876 — breaking that zone could open the path to $2,200, a 29% gain from current levels. He also believes four major pressure points (US monetary tightening, CLARITY Act uncertainty, capital shifts toward AI, and a financial sector downturn) are beginning to fade.
Adding conviction, Lee revealed that BitMine holds approximately 5.74 million ETH, worth about $4.8% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, with total reserves of $11.1 billion and 85% of its ETH staked. The firm is methodically advancing toward its stated goal of owning 5% of the network, though Lee respects Vitalik Buterin’s warning that no single entity should control more than that threshold for decentralization.
