Tom Lee Flags Ethereum (ETH) Breakout as ETH/BTC Ratio Hits 0.02994

Ethereum News

BitMine Chairman Tom Lee says Ethereum (ETH) is finally pulling ahead of Bitcoin after the ETH/BTC ratio cleared a multi-year downtrend that had weighed on the pair for years. The ratio, which measures Ethereum's performance against Bitcoin, stood at 0.02994 and was still climbing in the company's latest weekly treasury update. A rising ratio is generally read as improving relative demand for Ethereum, while a falling ratio points to stronger Bitcoin performance. Lee attributed the breakout to two forces he expects to benefit Ethereum most: tokenization and agentic AI — software agents, from AI crypto wallets to AI trading bots, that can initiate transactions without human input. In his view, each crypto cycle has had a distinct application-led catalyst, with initial coin offerings driving 2017 and 2018, NFTs the following cycle, and stablecoins leading 2025. He now points to Wall Street settling assets onchain and to AI-driven demand as the next drivers. “We are encouraged to see the ETH/BTC ratio at 0.02994 and rising,” Lee said in the company's investor-relations disclosure. The move above the multi-year trendline, he argued, shows markets are beginning to price in tokenization and agentic-AI applications. The comments accompanied BitMine's weekly treasury update, which published the latest ether and bitcoin holdings figures.

The treasury update behind Lee's commentary showed a marked slowdown in BitMine's Ethereum accumulation. The company holds 5,815,164 ETH, roughly 4.8% of the 120.7 million supply, with the position valued at about $11 billion at the time ETH was trading near $1,902. Total crypto and cash reached $11.4 billion, including 210 BTC. The pace of buying, however, has cooled sharply: BitMine added just 9,926 ETH last week, compared with a 43-week average of 59,998 ETH per week. The past five weeks are the only weeks below 11,000 ETH since late October, after weekly purchases peaked at 138,452 ETH in December. Reaching a 5% ownership stake would require roughly 220,000 additional tokens — fewer than four weeks of buying at the earlier average pace. The slowdown leaves the company short of the 5% supply threshold it had been approaching at earlier buying rates. Capital is instead being redirected to shareholder returns. The company repurchased 1.7 million of its own shares last week and 20.8 million shares since July 1, a buyback Lee described as the largest executed by any crypto digital-asset treasury.

Separately, Bank of America's second-quarter 13F filing with the SEC shows a sharp rotation inside its crypto-related holdings. The bank cut its stake in Strategy, the largest corporate bitcoin holder, by roughly 70%, reducing the position from about 3.97 million shares at the end of the first quarter to 1.18 million shares as of June 30. Over the same period, it expanded its position in BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), a spot Ethereum ETF, by approximately 29 times, from about 67,500 shares to 1.98 million shares. The ETF stake was valued at $23.6 million at the quarter's close. The official 13F filing, submitted to the SEC's EDGAR database, is a quarterly snapshot of long positions in US-listed securities and does not disclose purchase prices, current holdings, or whether the positions are proprietary or client-related. The reduction in Strategy shares is a portfolio adjustment separate from Strategy's own bitcoin treasury strategy, while the increase in ETHA points to a preference for indirect Ethereum exposure through a regulated vehicle. The bank's repositioning is part of a broader pattern visible in recent 13F disclosures from large money managers. The scale of the increase makes it one of the clearest institutional rotations yet into an altcoin exposure.

Read together, the two disclosures point to a broadening institutional appetite for Ethereum that now runs through multiple channels. BitMine still holds a sizable ETH treasury but is choosing buybacks over fresh accumulation, while Bank of America has moved from a bitcoin-equity proxy toward direct spot ETF exposure. Lee's ETH/BTC view adds a market-structure argument, suggesting the breakout reflects tokenization and agentic-AI demand rather than speculative flows. The ETH/BTC ratio's technical breakout gives the narrative a measurable anchor, but the filing data is what turns the theme into a balance-sheet fact. Our reading of the two primary records — the 13F on EDGAR and BitMine's treasury disclosure — is that institutional Ethereum exposure is maturing beyond the treasury-buying model that dominated early adoption.