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 an article on
He noted that Bitcoin has suffered six declines above 50% and three above 75% over the past 8.5 years, arguing that crypto’s volatility reflects markets “anticipating a huge future” and that investors have had to go through “existential moments.”
The call, however, sparked retaliation.
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 to be on the Ethereum blockchain,” he wrote.
Lee did not provide time targets or valuation markers for the ether thesis, only warning that “the path up is not a straight line.” His comments extend the long-term idea that crypto cycles can reward patience, but come with serious interim drawdowns.
Going forward, sustained growth of on-chain activity on Ethereum and its layer 2s, as well as expanded institutional use cases, will be the test of the thesis.
