Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, a widely followed market strategist, says capital has begun shifting toward Ethereum, reinforcing his view that ETH could reach $10,000 within the next one to two years. Lee attributes the possible shift to developments across the cryptocurrency industry over the past decade and expects Ethereum to benefit as institutional participation in stablecoins, decentralized finance, and tokenized assets expands. Stablecoins are blockchain-based tokens pegged to fiat currencies such as the US dollar, while tokenized assets are traditional financial instruments represented on a blockchain — two of the main channels through which banks and asset managers are engaging with public networks. According to Lee, Ethereum could increasingly serve as a settlement layer for digital financial products and institutional blockchain activity. He also argues that ETH remains significantly undervalued relative to Bitcoin based on historical valuation patterns from periods when Ethereum's network usage was stronger.

Ethereum's Role in Institutional Digital Finance

Lee expects Ethereum's role in digital finance to become more important as institutional adoption expands across several blockchain-based applications.

He believes the network could support payments, regulated settlement, and other financial products as institutions increase their use of blockchain infrastructure. In this view, rising demand for Ethereum's network could support a higher valuation for ETH.

Lee has also pointed to Ethereum's historical valuation relative to Bitcoin. During periods of stronger network activity, Ethereum previously represented a larger share of Bitcoin's valuation — a relationship many investors track through the ETH/BTC ratio, which compares Ethereum's market capitalization with Bitcoin's. A return toward that relationship, he argues, could provide significant upside for ETH without changing Bitcoin's broader position in the cryptocurrency market.

Lee also believes digital asset treasury companies have the potential to outperform the cryptocurrencies they hold on their corporate balance sheets. These companies raise money in public equity markets to buy and hold digital assets, a model popularized by software firm Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), whose Bitcoin purchases starting in 2020 made it the largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency and prompted a wave of imitators across the sector.

BitMine Strategy Adds to Ethereum Exposure

Lee's position as chairman of BitMine has connected his Ethereum outlook with the company's treasury strategy. BitMine launched its Ethereum treasury strategy through a $250 million private placement in July 2025.

By July 14, the company had accumulated more than 163,000 ETH, giving BitMine significant exposure to Ethereum and aligning its corporate strategy with Lee's broader expectations for the asset. That holding places BitMine among the largest corporate holders of Ethereum.

Lee's current $10,000 target is notably more conservative than the forecast he made in June, when he said Ethereum could potentially reach $250,000 under conditions of strong institutional adoption.

That earlier projection was based on expectations that Ethereum could become increasingly important across multiple sectors, with institutions using the network for payments and regulated settlement.

Ethereum Recovery Supports Lee's Outlook

Ethereum's 32% recovery has added support to Lee's argument about increasing capital flows into ETH. At the same time, higher trading volumes in South Korea indicated broader market participation during the cryptocurrency rebound.

Even with the recent recovery, Ethereum would need to maintain network activity and institutional demand for Lee's $10,000 outlook to gain further support. Competition from other networks, regulatory developments, and a decline in speculative demand could also affect Ethereum's valuation.

Lee's forecast frames the move of capital toward Ethereum as a structural shift tied to the network's expanding role in digital finance. His $10,000 target reflects expectations that institutional adoption of stablecoins, decentralized finance, and tokenized assets could strengthen Ethereum's position within the broader cryptocurrency market.