BitMine Chairman Tom Lee Says $10,000 Ether by Year-End 2026 Would Not Surprise Him

BitMine Immersion Technologies Chairman Tom Lee linked his Ether (ETH) outlook to treasury-company buying, which he expects to grow as those firms increase their share of the token’s supply.

Lee said an ETH price of $10,000 by the end of 2026 would not surprise him.

Companies holding ETH in their treasuries controlled roughly 7% of its supply in Lee’s estimate. He expects their combined share to reach 15% during the current market cycle, an increase of eight percentage points across the group.

Lee tied that outlook to how treasury stocks are valued. When a company’s shares trade at a premium to its per-share net asset value, it can issue stock and use the proceeds to acquire more ETH, he argued. Per-share net asset value measures a company’s assets after liabilities, divided by its shares outstanding.

At 3 p.m. ET (19:00 UTC) on Oct. 18, BitMine’s Ether balance stood at 6,041,481 ETH, or about 4.9% of Ethereum’s stated 122.1 million ETH supply. The figure reflects the company’s latest treasury holdings update.

Lee set a 5% ceiling on BitMine’s ETH purchases on Oct. 7. That limit applies to BitMine, while his 15% forecast covers treasury companies collectively. If BitMine stops buying at its stated limit, other companies would have to account for the additional holdings needed to reach his forecast.