Tom Lee Expects 'Defining Year for Ethereum' as BitMine Buys ETH Amid 'Rock Bottom' Vibes

In brief

• BitMine bought 45,759 Ethereum last week, bringing its total to 4.37 million ETH worth $8.68 billion.
• Chairman Tom Lee remains bullish, expecting 2026 to be a “defining year for Ethereum” driven by tokenization, AI, and layer-2 adoption.
• Ethereum is down 60% from its 2025 peak, and Myriad users don’t expect an imminent rebound.