Institutional capital is flooding into the cryptocurrency market on a large scale, and BitMine has become one of the world's largest Ethereum reserve companies.
BitMine Chairman Tom Lee recently made a significant prediction at the Impact conference during the 2025 Korea Blockchain Week: Bitcoin will reach $200,000-$250,000 by year-end, while Ethereum is targeted in the $10,000-$12,000 range.
He believes Ethereum is the "truly neutral chain" that will be favored by Wall Street and the White House. Under the Trump administration, the White House and Congress are more inclined to support cryptocurrency, primarily shifting towards Ethereum.
Institutional Opportunities for Ethereum
Tom Lee pointed out that Wall Street is only willing to conduct business on a neutral chain. The demand for the token economy driven by agent AI and robots will also largely occur on Ethereum.
He sees the potential for Ethereum to enter a 10 to 15-year "super cycle." This optimistic outlook stems from Ethereum's position in financial infrastructure and its compliance advantages.
Lee emphasized that Ethereum is currently the most compliant blockchain, meeting the infrastructure requirements of Wall Street and the government. As asset tokenization rises, the financialization of ETH will continue to increase.
BitMine's Ethereum Strategy
As the world's largest publicly listed ETH treasury company, BitMine is actively executing its Ethereum reserve strategy. As of September 24, 2025, BitMine holds 2.42 million ETH, accounting for approximately 2% of the total Ethereum supply. BitMine's goal is to hold 5% of the global ETH total supply. It currently nets an increase of 8,000 to 10,000 ETH per day, an accumulation rate 12 times that of MicroStrategy.
Tom Lee explained the logic behind this strategy: Ethereum, based on Proof-of-Stake (PoS), can generate over 3% native yield through staking, providing these companies with a stable income source similar to infrastructure operators.
Market Outlook and Price Predictions
Besides Tom Lee's predictions, several institutions have also provided optimistic estimates for Ethereum's price. Standard Chartered has raised its year-end 2025 ETH price forecast from $4,000 to $7,500 and expects the ETH price to reach $25,000 by 2028.
Wall Street analyst Sean Farrell expects ETH could reach $10,000 by the end of 2025, with an optimistic scenario of $12,000-$15,000.
The basis for these predictions is the substantial inflow of institutional capital. Ethereum spot ETFs recently hit a record high with a single-day net inflow of $1.019 billion. The total net asset value reached $25.712 billion, with holdings accounting for approximately 4.96% of the ETH circulating supply.
Institutional Deployment in Crypto Assets
BitMine is supported by numerous top-tier institutional investors, including Cathie Wood of ARK Invest, MOZAYYX, Founders Fund, Bill Miller III, Pantera, Kraken, DCG, and Galaxy Digital.
BitMine's stock has a daily trading volume of $1.6 billion, ranking it as the 42nd most liquid stock in the U.S. stock market, comparable to Uber. The company operates in regions with low energy costs: Trinidad, Pecos (Texas), and Silverton (Texas). By immersing mining machines in insulating liquid, BitMine can increase computing power by 25-30% while reducing energy consumption and extending equipment lifespan.
Institutional investors are accelerating their deployment in the cryptocurrency market. 70 Ethereum reserve entities currently hold approximately 3.49 million ETH, accounting for 2.89% of the ETH circulating supply.
With traditional financial giants like BlackRock and Fidelity holding significant ETH through ETFs, and listed companies like BitMine actively accumulating Ethereum reserves, the cryptocurrency market is undergoing a fundamental shift from retail-driven to institution-driven.
Tom Lee's projected targets of $200,000-$250,000 for Bitcoin and $10,000-$12,000 for Ethereum reflect how institutional capital is reshaping the cryptocurrency market landscape. This transformation has only just begun.
