Tom Lee Says Ethereum Could Outshine Bitcoin as Institutions Buy the Dip

After one of the sharpest crypto selloffs this year, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee believes the worst may be over, and that Ethereum could emerge as the cycle’s standout winner.

Fresh blockchain data shows a major tech firm quietly purchasing around 380,000 ETH this week, worth roughly $1.5 billion. The firm now controls more than 3 million ETH, about 2.5% of the total supply, making it the largest corporate holder of Ethereum worldwide. The company began building its position in July and aims to eventually own 5% of the network’s supply, a move analysts view as a strategic bet on Ethereum’s long-term dominance.

Lee, who chairs the tech firm and co-founded Fundstrat Global Advisors, admitted that the once-hot “digital asset treasury” trend is cooling, with many firms now valued below their crypto holdings. “The air’s already coming out of that bubble,” he said, adding that only disciplined companies with strong balance sheets will survive. Still, he sees Ethereum as the exception, the blockchain best positioned to capture the next wave of institutional capital.

In a recent discussion with a prominent investor, Lee compared Ethereum’s potential shift in market leadership to the 1970s transition when equities replaced gold as the world’s preferred store of value. “Ethereum could flip Bitcoin the same way stocks replaced gold,” he said, describing ETH as the technological backbone of modern finance.

Market strategists at a research firm echoed this optimism, noting that Ethereum’s broad utility, from decentralized finance to tokenization, makes it more than just a digital asset. For Lee, the selloff has only strengthened the case: large holders are accumulating while weaker hands capitulate. If the cycle repeats history, Ethereum may not just recover, it could redefine the crypto hierarchy altogether.