Tom Lee bets Ethereum’s comeback on the rise of AI

According to Tom Lee, the co-founder of Fundstrat, smart contract blockchains could prove to be the best defense for society as artificial intelligence assumes a larger share in the global economy. During his speech at the WebX 2026 conference, Lee explained that Ethereum is all set to move into a new phase of growth after a challenging year.

On July 13, Lee, chairperson of Ethereum treasury firm BitMine Immersion Technologies, delivered a special keynote at WebX. In anticipation of the event, Lee referred to the session as an exploration of the “Uncanny Valley of Wealth,” and mentioned to his followers on X that the ETH/BTC ratio is a “signal of a revival of crypto” before taking the stage. 

The scenario Lee is warning about

Lee focused mainly on the concept whereby AI agents can make money and carry out transactions without any human involvement at all. He outlined a scenario in which an individual wakes up one day only to find that an AI has labeled him as irresponsible in terms of finances and that his bank account has been frozen. In that case, he claimed, concerns arise as individuals ponder if they continue to be in control of technology, or it is the other way around, and the machines are running the show instead.

Come by today for @WebX_Asia at 11:25am at the CYRL Stage at the Prince Park Tower Tokyo 🇯🇵

I will be speaking about the “Uncanny Valley of Wealth”

PS: keep an eye 👁️ on $ETH / $BTC ratio. Signal of a revival of crypto https://t.co/jwktsEJQhG pic.twitter.com/oTqMFiFi16

— Thomas (Tom) Lee (not drummer) FundstratDirect.com (@fundstrat) July 13, 2026

Lee stated that he believes that there is currently a greater visible public skepticism regarding AI. As CoinPost reported, he cited the student walkout at Stanford commencement proceedings where a Google executive gave a speech and a radical anti-AI group called “Zizians” which has been accused of targeting data centres and founders of AI. He also claimed that machines contributed to 75 percent of trading done on Polymarket, and that they were responsible for more than half of website traffic and almost half of received emails.

For Lee, those developments lead to the same conclusion; existing institutions are unlikely to provide adequate protection on their own. “Smart contract blockchain is the best defense against AI taking over your life,” he noted, describing the combination of blockchain with AI as an emerging “agentic economy.”

His point of view is reflective of a larger discussion happening in the tech space. The venture capital company a16z Crypto claimed that blockchains allow AI agents to possess certain features that typical financial institutions can’t easily provide, such as programmable payments, verifiable identity, digital ownership, and transparent execution.

At the same time, the OECD drew attention to the growing necessity for enhanced accountability and trustworthy governance as agentic AI systems are becoming ever more economically influential. Lee’s thesis puts blockchain at the core of this accountability system.

Why Lee thinks Ethereum’s slump is a bottom

Lee paired that long-term vision with a bullish outlook for Ethereum, even as the asset traded near $1,700 during the keynote.

He pointed out that there are four major pressure points for Ethereum: tightened monetary policy in the United States, uncertain fate of the proposed US CLARITY Act, funds switching from cryptocurrency to AI, and downturn in the financial sector. However, in Lee’s opinion, these problems are starting to wane.

In support of the argument, Lee referred to the analytical work of market-timer Tom DeMark, which revealed the correlation of Ethereum with the recovery pattern of the S&P 500 during 1987, indicating an 89.81% correlation, and predicted that Ethereum would recover in August.

Lee also quoted Ex-Bank of America’s strategist Steve Suttmeier on July 9 in relation to Ethereum, where he indicated that the price of Ethereum going above the resistance zone of $1,846-$1,876 could open the doors to reach the price of $2,200.

Those levels are indicators of the significance of Lee’s thesis. Starting with the initial quoted amount of around $1,700, Ethereum would need to increase by 8.6% in order to achieve the lower resistance boundary and by 10.4% in order to reach the upper limit. The price crossing the $2,200 mark would mean an increase of about 29.4% from that amount.

Lee drew a parallel between the position of Ethereum and the cases of Amazon and Nvidia, two corporations that experienced many years of mediocre performance prior to their periods of exceptional growth. He stated that Ethereum’s next growth phase is going to be based on four components: the reconstructed Ethereum Foundation, development of agentic AI, Ethereum’s position as a settlement layer in finance, as well as the idea that “ETH is money.”

BitMine’s accumulation

Lee also shared an update about BitMine’s strategy regarding Ethereum. BitMine revealed it owned about 5.74 million worth of Ethereum, or approximately 4.8% of Ethereum’s overall circulating supply. The company went on to state that the total value of its cryptocurrency and cash reserves had reached an impressive $11.1 billion, and that nearly 85% of the assets in its Ethereum holdings had already been staked ‘via its MAVAN operations’.

The figures correspond with what Lee said in the presentation and indicate that BitMine is making efforts to become one of the largest institutional holders of Ethereum. Independent news source Decrypt has reported that the firm is continuously growing its treasury in 2026 while attempting to achieve its overall goal of owning approximately 5% of the network’s supply.

Lee claimed that there is no rush to cross that mark. He remarked that Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has said before that no organization should control more than 5% of the network in order to preserve decentralization. The investors’ next big concerns are tracking whether Ethereum can break decisively through the resistance barrier of $1,876, as well as how much progress has been made by Bitmine toward achieving its accumulation objectives.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.