Ethereum to Power AI Payments: Tom Lee Sees Blockchain Boom
Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee believes Ethereum has a crucial role to play in the artificial intelligence boom. Speaking during a Fundstrat panel, Lee compared today's AI market to the mobile phone revolution of the 1990s, where infrastructure providers and companies like Apple led the way to massive gains.
According to Lee, AI agents do not require traditional banking services such as trust, proof of funds, lending, or tax collection. Instead, he thinks blockchain-based payment rails will handle machine-to-machine transactions more efficiently. 'It’s a mistake to think that this is going to be built on traditional financial rails,' Lee said.
Lee's bullish Ethereum outlook aligns with veteran macro investor Jordi Visser, head of AI research at 22V Research. However, Lee's stance comes with financial exposure as he serves as chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies, the largest corporate holder of Ethereum. The company disclosed holdings of 5.79 million ETH, about 4.8% of the circulating supply, with crypto and cash assets totaling approximately $11.8 billion.
Virtuals Protocol CEO Jansen Teng noted that real AI agent adoption remains limited. The platform has processed roughly $15 billion in agent token trading but only about $500 million in actual agent-to-agent transactions over the past year. Teng also admitted the platform has yet to achieve product-market fit, suggesting that widespread AI payment adoption may still take time.