Tom Lee, Chairman of Bitmine Immersion Technologies: "The Crypto Bull Market Has Already Begun... This Will Be the Biggest Cycle Ever" [KBW2026]

[Financial News] The crypto market is expected to enter its biggest bull cycle ever, fueled by the tokenization of financial assets and institutional inflows. Analysts say that a transfer of wealth from older generations to younger ones will increase investment demand, while the expansion of tokenization and agentic artificial intelligence (AI) will support Ethereum's long-term rise.
Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine Immersion Technologies, made the comments during the main conference of Korea Blockchain Week 2026 (KBW2026), Asia's largest blockchain event, held on the 30th at WALKERHILL HOTELS & RESORTS in Seoul. "I believe this crypto cycle will be the biggest ever," he said.
Lee cited Bitcoin's recent trading above its 200-day moving average as the reason. Over the past 12 years, Bitcoin's price has crossed above the 200-day moving average nine times, and eight of those instances were followed by bull markets, he explained.
He also predicted that institutional capital would support the bull market. As crypto assets have begun outperforming other major assets in the second half of the year, institutional investors are expected to make additional purchases. "According to foreign media reports, cumulative flows into Bitcoin investment products turned positive in September this year," Lee said. "As institutional clients await the 'four-year boom cycle' approaching in October, they will make concentrated purchases in the fourth quarter."
He attributed the strength of this bull cycle compared with previous ones to the trend toward tokenization of financial assets. While the 2016-2017 initial coin offering (ICO) boom and the 2019-2020 non-fungible token (NFT) boom were both led by retail investors, Lee said that tokenization and stablecoin businesses by major financial institutions are now expanding the market. He added that traditional financial companies such as BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase, and Robinhood are also highly likely to move onto blockchain.
Lee further predicted that the inheritance of assets from older generations to younger ones, known as a "wealth transfer," would create new demand for crypto investments. "During the previous crypto cycle, from 2019 to 2020, $100 billion was inherited by Americans in their 20s. As that amount has grown each year, it is expected to reach $700 billion this year," Lee said. "That would far exceed the scale of the wealth transfer during the previous cycle. If we assume that only $200 billion of it flows into crypto, applying the multiplier effect from the past could drive the crypto market to $10 trillion."
Lee identified tokenization and agentic artificial intelligence (AI) as long-term catalysts for Ethereum's rise. Although Ethereum has traded within a range for an extended period, he explained that it had posted substantial gains in the past after breaking out of sideways trading periods. "Ethereum went through two previous periods of sideways trading and correction, after which it rose 227-fold in 2016 and 50-fold in 2020," Lee said. "Given that it has now gone through its longest-ever five-year correction, I believe it will also post a powerful rally this time."
In line with this outlook, Bitmine Immersion Technologies plans to maintain significant exposure to Ethereum. Its strategy includes securing 5% of Ethereum's total supply, generating returns by staking its Ethereum holdings, and enhancing shareholder value through share buybacks and the issuance of perpetual preferred stock.
"Our goal is for Bitmine stock to deliver higher returns than Ethereum itself," Lee added. "We want to realize shareholder value during this bull market."
[email protected] Park Ji-yeon Reporter