Bullish on BTC reaching new highs, ETH making a comeback? Tom Lee speaks with a $200 million investment

On January 18th, Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat and Chairman of BitMine, reiterated his optimistic outlook on the crypto market in an interview with CNBC. He believes Bitcoin is expected to reach a new all-time high in 2026, and he is even more bullish on Ethereum, predicting that Ethereum’s performance will outperform Bitcoin. These remarks are not baseless; they are supported by policy support, a fundamental recovery, and the actual actions of his company.

Policy-Friendly Environment as a Key Driving Force

Tom Lee mentioned that the advancement of the Clarity Act is a significant positive for the crypto industry. This bill, aimed at providing a clear regulatory framework for digital assets, is gradually progressing. He stated that the crypto market suffered a heavy blow in October last year, but as time passes and the market moves away from the shock point, a substantial recovery is expected.

Meanwhile, Washington’s considerations to limit credit card interest rates could impact traditional finance, indirectly providing more room for imagination in the crypto asset space.

BTC Performance Shows Signs of Improvement

Data indicates that Bitcoin’s recent performance has validated the reasonableness of this outlook:

In terms of market capitalization, BTC currently has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, accounting for 58.96% of the total crypto market cap. Tom Lee believes that the rise in the first five trading days of January is a good omen for the entire year.

Why Is There Confidence That ETH Will Outperform BTC?

This is the most interesting part of Tom Lee’s view. He is “possibly more optimistic” about Ethereum and expects Ethereum to outperform Bitcoin.

Looking at BitMine’s actual actions, this is not just an expression of opinion. According to the latest news, BitMine currently holds about 4.16 million ETH, making it one of the largest Ethereum treasury companies globally. The company expects this holding to generate over $400 million in annual pre-tax income, mostly from staking rewards.

More notably, BitMine recently announced a $200 million investment into Beast Industries, a subsidiary of MrBeast, with completion expected by January 19th. Although this investment appears to be a crossover, the underlying logic is to promote Ethereum ecosystem applications through content platforms and creator economy. This “influencer ecosystem + DeFi” combination is essentially seeking new narratives for Ethereum’s long-term growth.

Large Holdings Confirm Optimistic Outlook

The reason Tom Lee dares to make such predictions is because BitMine is betting real money. The company chairman, who holds about 4.16 million ETH, signals strong confidence in Ethereum, which is far more credible than the opinions of ordinary analysts.

Relevant data shows that digital asset treasury companies (including BitMine) currently hold about 5 million ETH, effectively reducing circulating supply in the market. When supply is limited and demand remains stable or grows, prices have more support to rise.

Summary

Tom Lee’s optimistic view is based on three pillars: policy support (advancement of the Clarity Act), fundamental recovery (recovering from October’s heavy hit), and actual actions (BitMine’s large holdings and new investments).

While the expectation for Bitcoin to reach a new high is relatively conservative, his outlook on Ethereum is more aggressive. From BitMine’s actual investment layout, this is not just a price prediction but a bet on the future of Ethereum’s ecosystem applications. The market should pay attention to the specific progress of policy implementation and the sustainability of the fundamental recovery.