Tom Lee expects Ethereum to outperform Bitcoin on AI, tokenization

On August 21, 2026, BitMine Chairman Tom Lee identified BMNR as the US-listed stock most closely tied to Ethereum, citing an 80% correlation, and predicted that ETH will outperform Bitcoin during the current cycle. Fundstrat, in a Friday post on X, said its study covered 17 companies with market values above $2 billion, giving stock investors a list of publicly traded businesses that have moved closely with Bitcoin or Ethereum. BitMine Immersion Technologies led the Ethereum group with an 80% correlation, while Coinbase ranked second at 74%. Among Bitcoin-linked stocks, Strategy recorded the highest reading at 78%, followed by Coinbase at 74%. Lee attributed his Ethereum outlook to tokenization and AI applications that could create demand for Ethereum's network.

Background

The Fundstrat study described in the source covered 17 large-cap companies, each with a market value above $2 billion, and ranked them by their correlation to Bitcoin or Ethereum. The post did not disclose the period used to calculate the correlations or explain whether Fundstrat measured daily, weekly, or monthly returns. The source notes that correlations change as prices and market conditions change, meaning the figures describe the relationship found in Fundstrat's dataset rather than a fixed link between each stock and the corresponding cryptocurrency. BitMine's position at the top of the Ethereum list follows its decision to build the world's largest corporate Ethereum treasury. As of August 16, the company held 5,815,164 ETH, 210 Bitcoin, $78 million in cash and marketable securities, and investments in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings. Using an ETH price of $1,893, BitMine valued its combined crypto, cash, securities and other investments at $11.4 billion. The company said its Ethereum position represented 4.8% of the token's stated 120.7 million supply, placing it 96% of the way toward its target of owning 5%. BitMine has bought Ether every week since adopting its Ethereum treasury strategy on June 30, 2025, according to its latest update.

What happened

According to crypto_news_dot on August 21, 2026, BitMine Chairman Tom Lee identified BMNR as the US-listed stock most closely tied to Ethereum, citing an 80% correlation, while predicting that ETH will outperform Bitcoin during the current cycle. Fundstrat said in a Friday post on X that its study covered 17 companies with market values above $2 billion, giving stock investors a list of publicly traded businesses that have moved closely with Bitcoin or Ethereum. BitMine Immersion Technologies led the Ethereum group with a correlation of 80%, while Coinbase ranked second at 74%. Among stocks linked to Bitcoin, Strategy recorded the highest reading at 78%, followed by Coinbase at 74%. Lee said he expects Ethereum to beat Bitcoin during the present cycle because tokenization and AI applications could create demand for Ethereum's network. In his view, the two uses matter more than the themes that supported ETH during earlier market cycles. The post did not disclose the period used to calculate the correlations or explain whether Fundstrat measured daily, weekly, or monthly returns. Correlations also change as prices and market conditions change, meaning the figures describe the relationship found in Fundstrat's dataset rather than a fixed link between each stock and the corresponding cryptocurrency. BitMine's position at the top of the list follows its decision to build the world's largest corporate Ethereum treasury. As of Aug. 16, the company held 5,815,164 ETH, 210 Bitcoin, $78 million in cash and marketable securities, and investments in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings. Using an ETH price of $1,893, BitMine valued its combined crypto, cash, securities and other investments at $11.4 billion. The company said its Ethereum position represented 4.8% of the token's stated 120.7 million supply, placing it 96% of the way toward its target of owning 5%. During the week ending Aug. 16, BitMine purchased another 9,926 ETH. The company has bought Ether every week since adopting its Ethereum treasury strategy on June 30, 2025, according to its latest update. An Aug. 10 treasury update previously covered by crypto.news showed BitMine holding approximately 5.81 million ETH after another 7,391-token purchase. At that time, the company had also repurchased three million BMNR shares under a $4 billion authorization. BitMine added another 1.7 million shares to its repurchases during the following week, taking the total since July to more than 20.8 million. Lee said management considered the common shares undervalued, although that assessment represents the company's view rather than an independent valuation. BMNR closed at about $22.72 on Aug. 21, gaining roughly 5.3% during the session. Coinbase rose around 7.5%, while Strategy added about 5.9%, as Bitcoin and several large altcoins advanced during the same trading period. Of BitMine's 5.82 million ETH, 5,067,309 tokens were staked as of Aug. 16. The amount represented about 87% of the company's Ethereum holdings and was valued at $9.6 billion using the price cited in its announcement. Based on a seven-day annualized yield of 2.61%, BitMine projected around $250 million in annual staking revenue from the position. The company said potential annual rewards could reach $287 million after its remaining ETH is staked through its MAVAN platform and external partners. Staking gives BitMine a source of revenue that Strategy cannot generate from its Bitcoin holdings because Bitcoin does not use a proof-of-stake system. BitMine's estimates, however, depend on Ethereum's staking yield, ETH's market price, validator performance and the amount of company-owned Ether placed into staking. The company also joined the Russell 1000 large-cap index on June 26, gi

Market impact

The source provides several market figures tied to the event. BMNR closed at about $22.72 on Aug. 21, gaining roughly 5.3% during the session. Coinbase rose around 7.5%, while Strategy added about 5.9%, as Bitcoin and several large altcoins advanced during the same trading period. BitMine's treasury update, as of Aug. 16, showed holdings of 5,815,164 ETH, 210 Bitcoin, $78 million in cash and marketable securities, and investments in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings. Using an ETH price of $1,893, BitMine valued its combined crypto, cash, securities and other investments at $11.4 billion. The company said its Ethereum position represented 4.8% of the token's stated 120.7 million supply, placing it 96% of the way toward its target of owning 5%. During the week ending Aug. 16, BitMine purchased another 9,926 ETH. Of BitMine's 5.82 million ETH, 5,067,309 tokens were staked as of Aug. 16, representing about 87% of the company's Ethereum holdings and valued at $9.6 billion using the price cited in its announcement. Based on a seven-day annualized yield of 2.61%, BitMine projected around $250 million in annual staking revenue from the position, with potential annual rewards reaching $287 million after its remaining ETH is staked through its MAVAN platform and external partners. The source also notes that BitMine repurchased three million BMNR shares under a $4 billion authorization as of the Aug. 10 update, and added another 1.7 million shares during the following week, taking the total since July to more than 20.8 million.

Why it matters

The source supports several consequences. First, Fundstrat's study gives equity investors a list of publicly traded businesses that have moved closely with Bitcoin or Ethereum, which may help those seeking crypto exposure through stocks. Second, Lee's prediction that Ethereum will outperform Bitcoin during the current cycle is tied to his view that tokenization and AI applications could create demand for Ethereum's network, and that these two uses matter more than the themes that supported ETH during earlier market cycles. Third, BitMine's position at the top of the Ethereum correlation list follows its decision to build the world's largest corporate Ethereum treasury, and the company has bought Ether every week since adopting its Ethereum treasury strategy on June 30, 2025. Fourth, staking gives BitMine a source of revenue that Strategy cannot generate from its Bitcoin holdings because Bitcoin does not use a proof-of-stake system. However, BitMine's estimates depend on Ethereum's staking yield, ETH's market price, validator performance and the amount of company-owned Ether placed into staking. The source also cautions that correlations change as prices and market conditions change, meaning the figures describe the relationship found in Fundstrat's dataset rather than a fixed link between each stock and the corresponding cryptocurrency.