Ethereum Bull Cycle Ahead: Tom Lee Sees Asset Tokenization and AI as Catalysts

Tom Lee, Chairman of Bitmine, predicts that the next bull cycle for Ethereum (ETH) may be triggered by asset tokenization and the adoption of Agentic AI. In historical market cycles, the ETH/BTC ratio has increased as usage of Ethereum compared to Bitcoin increases. For example, during the NFT boom in 2020-2021 and the rise of stablecoins in 2025.

Since the third quarter of 2026, Ethereum has been the best-performing macro asset, outperforming the S&P 500 by 5430 basis points as of last week. Tom Lee notes that this is not just a short-term phenomenon, but rather a long-term trend driven by increasing adoption of blockchain technology.

Lee believes that institutional investors will be attracted to Ethereum in the coming months due to various catalysts, including the expected passage of the CLARITY Act in September and the return of Korean investors to the market. He also expects the 'four-year cycle' to bottom out in the next few weeks, paving the way for large-scale institutional investment.