BitMine chairman Tom Lee has linked Ethereum’s future demand to advances in artificial intelligence and robotics, arguing that autonomous machines will increasingly require blockchain-based verification and control.

Lee also expects Wall Street tokenization and agentic AI to strengthen Ethereum’s role as a settlement layer for financial activity, while BlackRock maintains its Bitcoin investment case as an alternative monetary asset even as capital shifts toward AI-focused equity funds.

Writing as BitMine chairman, Lee cited BlackRock’s continued Bitcoin view while arguing that blockchains could come to support AI and autonomous machines. He added that Ethereum could become the most important Layer 1 network as Wall Street tokenization and agentic AI expand blockchain use.

AI Growth Connected to Ethereum

According to Lee, AI capabilities are advancing along a steep S-curve and are developing greater collective coordination. He argued that blockchains and smart contracts offer a way to keep humans involved in AI-driven activity.

Lee also identified robotics as another potential blockchain use case. He said robots could eventually exceed human capabilities and would require blockchains to verify and control their actions.

“we see $ETH as an important downstream story for AI,” Lee wrote, describing Ethereum as an important base layer for these applications.

The argument builds on Lee’s view that crypto becomes more relevant as AI and robotics capabilities increase. He also agreed with BlackRock’s assessment that Bitcoin has growing use cases.

BlackRock Maintains Bitcoin Investment Case

BlackRock said Bitcoin’s core investment case remains unchanged despite the cryptocurrency’s more than 50% decline from its October 2025 high. The firm’s report described Bitcoin as an emerging global monetary alternative and a portfolio diversifier. BlackRock also issues the largest U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which launched in January 2024.

According to the report, capital had shifted toward AI-themed equity funds during Bitcoin’s decline. Lee used the findings to reinforce his broader Ethereum thesis.

Lee has also tied the ETH/BTC ratio to previous crypto cycles, citing initial coin offerings in 2017-2018, NFTs in 2020-2021, and stablecoins in 2025, the year the U.S. GENIUS Act created the first federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.

Tokenization and AI Drive Lee’s ETH View

For the upcoming cycle, Lee expects the ETH/BTC ratio to rise, driven by Wall Street tokenization and agentic AI using blockchains. He connects Ethereum with tokenized assets moving onto blockchain networks and said this could make Ethereum an important settlement layer for financial activity. Tokenization is already running on Ethereum: BlackRock’s tokenized money-market fund BUIDL launched on the network in March 2024, and Ethereum hosts the largest share of major stablecoin supply.

BitMine, meanwhile, has accumulated Ethereum through multimillion-dollar purchases. The company, chaired by Lee, reportedly holds about 4.8% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. BitMine, which trades on the NYSE American under the ticker BMNR, shifted from bitcoin mining to an Ethereum treasury strategy in mid-2025, mirroring the corporate-accumulation playbook Strategy pioneered with Bitcoin, and other public companies such as SharpLink Gaming have adopted similar Ethereum treasury strategies.

Lee also co-founded Fundstrat and has previously connected Ethereum with artificial intelligence. His latest comments place AI, robotics, tokenization and Ethereum within the same market thesis, with the growth of on-chain tokenized assets and corporate ETH treasuries among the indicators that will test that view.