Ethereum is down over 50% from its peak, but Bitmine chairman Tom Lee is making one of the boldest calls in crypto right now. He says the bottom is in.
1 ETH is trading around $2,174 as of March 20, down more than 50% from its 52-week high of nearly $4,831 hit in August 2025. With billions on the line and Wall Street heavyweights watching closely, this bottom call is impossible to ignore.
Why Tom Lee Believes ETH Has Hit Rock Bottom
Tom Lee is not just making this call on gut feeling. His argument rests on two hard data points.
1 The first comes from Tom DeMark, a market analyst who works with Bitmine. 2 DeMark has identified what he says is a 93% correlation between Ethereum’s recent price action and the S&P 500’s behavior during two historical episodes, the 1987 crash and the 2011 correction. 1 Based on the 1987 correlation, Ethereum should have bottomed on March 7. 1 Under the 2011 parallel, the bottom is now.
The second piece of evidence involves ETH’s realized price, or the average cost at which all holders bought their tokens on-chain. 1That metric sits at $2,241. 1Ethereum is currently trading at roughly a 22% discount to that figure, meaning the average holder is underwater.
That 22% discount is nearly the same level that appeared just before the 2025 cycle recovery. 1During the 2025 cycle low, ETH traded at a 21% discount to the realized price before staging a recovery, and Lee sees the current near-identical discount as a meaningful signal.
Ethereum bottom signal Bitmine Tom Lee ETH price recovery 2026
Bitmine’s Massive Ethereum Bet Backs the Forecast
This is not just talk. Bitmine is putting serious money behind Lee’s words.
21 As of March 15, 2026, the company’s crypto holdings are comprised of 4,595,562 ETH at $2,185 per ETH, 196 Bitcoin, a $200 million stake in Beast Industries, an $83 million stake in Eightco Holdings, and total cash of $1.2 billion.
Here is a quick look at Bitmine’s current position:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total ETH Held | 4,595,562 |
| Staked ETH | 3,040,515 |
| ETH Supply Owned | 3.81% |
| Total Crypto + Cash | $11.5 billion |
| Annualized Staking Revenue | $180 million |
| Projected Staking Revenue at Full Scale | $272 million |
21 Bitmine crypto holding reigns as the number one Ethereum treasury and number two global treasury, behind Strategy Inc. 3 BitMine disclosed its largest Ethereum purchase this year, acquiring 60,999 ETH last week. That is not the move of a company worried about further downside.
Wall Street Giants Are Quietly Backing Bitmine
The institutional support behind Bitmine tells its own story.
42 BlackRock increased its stake by 165.6% in the fourth quarter. 42 The asset manager held 9,049,912 shares valued at $245,705,112 as of late December 2025, according to its Form 13F filing. 45 Top institutional investors like Morgan Stanley, ARK Invest, and BlackRock are buying BMNR stock, with Morgan Stanley becoming the company’s biggest holder with a $331 million stake.
Goldman Sachs, Vanguard, and Bank of America are also in the picture. 45Bank of America increased its holdings by 1,668% from the previous quarter, Goldman Sachs boosted by 588%, while Citigroup increased by 542%.
When this many blue-chip institutions are buying into an Ethereum play during a downturn, it says something about where smart money sees things heading.
Peter Brandt Joins the Ethereum Bottom Call
Tom Lee is not alone. 31Veteran trader Peter Brandt has flagged a potential bottom for Ethereum while hinting at a rally to $4,000 for the second-largest crypto.
32 “Small daily chart bottom in an area of longer-term historical support ETH,” Brandt said in an X post. 32 Ethereum on the monthly chart had bounced off the bottom of a rising wedge pattern it has been stuck in since 2021, with a potential target above $4,000. 32 Bitmine Chair Tom Lee took notice, saying, “Peter is known for his patience and discipline. To me, it’s signal that he is highlighting ETH.” 3 Crypto analyst Ali Martinez added, “Ethereum just signaled the end of the downtrend. We’ve survived the grind from September to March. The next key levels to watch are $2,400 and $2,600.”
Key technical levels to watch for ETH:
- Immediate support: $2,100
- First resistance: $2,400
- Second resistance: $2,600
- Major target (monthly chart): $4,000
Skeptics Push Back on the Bottom Call
Not everyone is buying what Lee is selling.
6 The Fundstrat co-founder has come under fire this year for making high-profile bullish projections that did not materialize. In early March 2025, he claimed Bitcoin could do “better than $150,000” by year-end, later raising that to “easily” reach $200,000. He also called for Ethereum to reach between $7,000 and $9,000 by the end of January. Neither of these forecasts materialized by a wide margin. 6 “I think a lot of people would say Tom Lee has lost any credibility, especially calling a bottom,” one X user wrote.
There are also concerns about Lee’s personal moves. 7A CEO selling his stake while the company’s primary asset is underwater is a classic red flag, as it suggests a lack of skin in the game when the risk is most visible.
7 The stock’s recent 38.4% decline year to date underscores the volatility of this strategy.
And macroeconomic headwinds remain real. 19The Fed held rates at 3.50% to 3.75% and raised its 2026 inflation forecast, explicitly citing oil supply disruptions from the Iran conflict. That kind of backdrop does not usually favor risk assets like crypto.
The bottom line is this: Ethereum’s realized price data is flashing a signal that has worked before. Multiple veteran analysts see a bottom forming. And the largest Ethereum treasury company in the world is accelerating its buying. But Lee’s track record of missed calls gives every reason for caution. History may be on his side, but timing has been his biggest weakness.
Whether you are sitting on ETH or watching from the sidelines, the next few weeks could be the most important of this cycle. Drop your thoughts in the comments below. Do you think Ethereum has truly bottomed, or is Tom Lee calling it too early once again
