Tom Lee, Chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies, stated that crypto concept stocks have led the market in Q3 2026, viewing this phenomenon as a signal for the start of a bull market. He differentiates this cycle from past ones driven by ICOs, NFTs, meme coins, and stablecoins, noting that new variables include tokenization, artificial intelligence, and more favorable regulations, which will broaden the funding landscape.

In a more detailed statement in the company's weekly buying announcement on September 21, he expressed that the bull market began in late June, driven by funds rotating from AI stocks back to crypto, strengthening fundamentals of tokenization and AI, and the end of a four-year cycle. So far in Q3, ETH has outperformed the S&P 500 by approximately 6519 basis points, which he sees as a prelude to stronger upward movement in Q4, expecting institutions that underweighted crypto due to AI stocks' dominance earlier in the year to replenish their positions in the last three months.

BitMine itself is demonstrating its strategy through its balance sheet. Since launching its Ethereum treasury strategy on June 30, 2025, it has been buying weekly, holding approximately 5,983,940 ETH as of around September 20, accounting for about 4.9% of the circulating supply, and is about 121,000 ETH short of its publicly stated "alchemy of 5%" target; valued at around $2,688, this ETH holding is approximately $16.1 billion, with about $13.6 billion staked, corresponding to about 5.07 million ETH. Additionally, it holds about 212 BTC, $714 million in cash and securities, and assets from so-called moonshot companies like Beast Industries and Eightco, totaling approximately $17.1 billion. In the past week, it bought another 27,562 ETH, worth about $74 to $75 million.

Lee, who is also a co-founder of Fundstrat, stated to Wealthion in mid-September that the next 12 months will be bullish, citing that Wall Street has only recently recognized blockchain as a tool for rebuilding tracks, with tokenized securities and stablecoins being utilized by financial institutions. He also mentioned that four of the 21 best-performing stocks in the Russell 1000 for the quarter were crypto-related, while BitMine's stock price rose approximately 99% for the quarter. Regarding ETH, he bets that Wall Street's tokenization will elevate demand for public chains and believes there is a chance to challenge previous highs this year; he also agreed during interactions that "a five-year consolidation is a prerequisite for a major rise."

Mechanically, the purchases are of listed crypto stocks and ETH spot: the treasury company uses equity financing to buy coins, and as the stock price rises, it can refinance to buy more. The selling is still based on viewing the four-year halving cycle as the only clock and treating AI stocks as the only growth container. The event-driven aspect is that the public company's holdings and statements are synchronized, rather than a single large whale transfer on-chain. Funds are shifting from AI-themed stocks and cash to high-elasticity crypto stocks like BMNR, and then into spot ETH and staking yields; benefiting are BitMine, which has hoarded nearly 5% of the supply and its staking cash flow, while traditional institutional portfolios that have not replenished in Q3 may chase higher prices in Q4. The realization of tokenization will increase demand for Ethereum block space, but does not automatically mean that previous price highs will be immediately breached.

Source: Public Information