Ethereum Seen as Neutral Base Layer for Wall Street Growth

• Tom Lee predicts Ethereum to surge to $10K–$15K and Bitcoin to climb toward $250K.
• Tom Lee’s BitMine now holds 2.15M ETH, making it the largest Ethereum treasury worldwide.
• Ethereum Layer 2 networks process 12–14M daily transactions, surpassing the mainnet.

Fundstrat co-founder and BitMine chairman Tom Lee said Ethereum could anchor a 15-year super cycle for institutional adoption. Speaking at Korea Blockchain Week’s IMPACT conference in Seoul, Lee described Ethereum as a “truly neutral chain” that aligns with Wall Street and Washington’s regulatory priorities. He forecasted Ethereum reaching $10,000–$15,000 as Bitcoin and Bitcoin $200,000–$250,000.

Ethereum’s Neutrality and Policy Alignment

According to Lee, neutrality gives Ethereum a structural advantage. He argued institutions avoid platforms where control appears concentrated. “I don’t think anyone ever feels that someone’s got a fat finger tilting [Ethereum] in their favor,” Lee told attendees. He said that perception makes Ethereum suitable for regulated financial products and government-backed assets.

Lee further pointed to U.S. policy. He observed Congress and the White House, under President Trump, increasingly favor Ethereum for tokenized projects. He connected this trend to Trump’s comments on “proof-of-human” initiatives aimed at protecting identity systems. Lee said much of that work will operate on Ethereum’s infrastructure.

He added that agentic AI and robotics could expand token economies requiring secure, neutral rails. Ethereum, he said, can provide the settlement layer. These developments, combined with staking yields and developer activity, supported his view of a decade-long expansion cycle.

Treasury Adoption and Market Impact

Lee also talked about BitMine’s transformation into an Ethereum treasury firm. The company added its holdings earlier this year, raising its market cap from $37.6 million in June to about $9.45 billion by late September. BitMine now holds 2.15 million ETH, making it the largest Ethereum treasury worldwide and second overall in crypto treasuries after Strategy.

Trading activity surged alongside the treasury increase. BitMine trades about $3 billion a day, while Microstrategy trades $3.4 billion, Lee noted. These two firms represent 95% of all DAT trading volume. He said this scale creates passive inflows as major indices rebalance, supporting their valuations.

Lee stressed that market competition continues, but he said institutions already concentrate flows toward the largest treasury firms. He explained that such moves show a preference for liquidity and scale in regulated markets. The change, he added, demonstrates how treasuries can act like large-cap equities in traditional finance.

Related: Bitcoin to $250K? Tom Lee Predicts Big Moves by Fall 2025

Layer 2 Growth and Regulatory Outlook

Beyond treasuries, Lee highlighted Ethereum’s Layer 2 networks as key growth drivers. L2s now process 12–14 million transactions daily, compared with about one million on Ethereum’s mainnet. Total value locked across Arbitrum, Optimism, and Coinbase’s Base has surged past $39 billion.

Coinbase’s Base grew sharply, rising more than 350% year over year and now securing about $5 billion in assets. This indicates how a Nasdaq-listed exchange can scale user adoption by building on Ethereum. 

Policy changes also support this view. Lee referenced the GENIUS Act, signed by President Trump in July 2025, which created a regulatory outlook for issuing tokenized assets in the United States. Stablecoins, widely used on Ethereum, are to benefit from these new guidelines requiring reserve transparency and compliance structures.

Governance and staking economics further strengthen Ethereum’s position as a base layer for regulated DeFi. Combined with neutrality and scale, these features offer financial institutions the settlement infrastructure needed for tokenized markets. He described these fundamentals as the basis for Ethereum’s long-term valuation range of $10,000–$15,000.

Meanwhile, Ethereum’s role as a neutral settlement layer aligns with Wall Street’s regulatory needs and Washington’s priorities. Tom Lee highlighted neutrality, staking, and policy alignment as structural strengths. Treasury adoption, Layer 2 scaling, and regulatory frameworks show how Ethereum is positioned to potentially anchor a 15-year institutional super cycle.

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