Bitmine’s Tom Lee Bets Big On Ethereum With New 2026 Prediction

Bitmine chairman Tom Lee has issued another Ethereum (ETH) price prediction. The executive sees the asset ending the year between $9,000 and $12,000.

The forecast arrives as on-chain data from early May highlights fragile holder conviction across the Ethereum market.

Tom Lee Bets On Crypto Spring

Lee delivered the targets at Consensus Miami, pairing the Ethereum range with a Bitcoin (BTC) projection of $150,000 to $200,000. He framed the crypto winter as already over.

Recently, the executive said that the crypto spring has commenced. He also highlighted tokenization and agentic AI as dual tailwinds for the second-largest cryptocurrency.

Analyst Crypto Patel pushed further, projecting $10,000 to $15,000 this cycle in a post on X.

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Notably, Lee’s Ethereum target requires a gain of roughly 415% from the current price near $2,323. However, such a sharp rally could still face resistance from broader macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions.

Lee has made bullish Ethereum calls before. He projected ETH at $10,000 to $12,000 by the end of 2025. The asset peaked near $4,946 that August, then plunged sharply from October.

Exchange Inflows Reveal Strain Among Ethereum Holders

Meanwhile, analyst Darkfost observed that “some degree of short-term instability remains among large ETH holders.” The analyst noted that Binance has logged several hourly inflow spikes through early May. 

Darkfost counted 216,152 ETH inflow worth $511 million on May 6. Another 98,552 ETH ($224 million) followed on May 8, with 125,146 ETH ($288 million) on May 9.

Binance’s reserves have also grown. The exchange now holds about 3.62 million ETH, or about 24.6% of all Ethereum held on centralized platforms.

“What is particularly interesting about these transfers is that they all occurred while price was entering corrective phases, whether shallow or more significant. This behavior appears to reflect emotional reactions from investors rather than calculated profit taking,” the analyst said. “It may also help explain why Ethereum has been stuck in a consolidation phase for several weeks now,” 

The data highlights a split between bullish institutional positioning and weakening short-term holder conviction. Whether that dynamic shifts and Ethereum reaches Lee’s target remains an open question.

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