Tom Lee shrugs off ETH’s sell-off, saying fundamentals don’t match falling prices

BitMine added 41,788 ETH last week as Tom Lee called the pullback attractive amid growing activity on the chain.

The price of Ethereum (ETH) fell from around $2,900 to almost $2,100 over the weekend as selling pressure increased. Since then, the price has stabilized somewhat as of Tuesday, but it still remains down more than 26% over the past month.

Despite declining investor confidence, Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat, attributed the crypto asset’s weakness to the absence of leverage and gold’s rally, rather than Ethereum’s deteriorating fundamentals.

Aggressive shopping spree

Leading Ethereum treasury company BitMine has continued to accumulate ETH during the recent price drop. Lee, who is also chairman, described current levels as “attractive” amid what he sees as strengthening network fundamentals.

Lee said,

“BitMine has been steadily buying Ethereum as we see this pullback as attractive given its strengthening fundamentals. In our view, ETH’s price does not reflect ETH’s great utility and its role as the future of finance.”

The sharp drop in crypto asset prices over the past month comes as daily Ethereum transactions hit a record high of 2.5 million and active addresses climbed to a record 1 million per day in 2026. Lee compared this to previous crypto declines, when on-chain activity declined, and said the recent price weakness appears to be driven by non-fundamental factors, including moderate debt levels and a rise in precious metals prices.

His comments followed reports estimating that the company suffered more than $6.9 billion in unrealized losses on its Ethereum holdings.

No pressure to sell ETH

On February 2, the company reported total crypto and investment assets of $10.7 billion, including 4,285,125 ETH, 193 Bitcoin, a $200 million stake in Beast Industries associated with MrBeast, a $19 million stake in Eightco Holdings, and $586 million in cash.

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According to the company, the balance sheet includes approximately $10.1 billion in cryptocurrency and investments, with Ethereum holdings generating staking rewards at a compound Ethereum Staking Rate of 2.81%, while cash yields money market returns of approximately 3.5% to 3.9%.

BitMine reported no outstanding debts. Lee said this structure allows the company to withstand the volatility of the crypto market while generating recurring revenue. He also added that there is no pressure to sell ETH given the lack of debt covenants or related restrictions. As of February 1, BitMine had staked 2,897,459 ETH, which is worth approximately $6.7 billion. This is an increase of 888,192 ETH in the past week and represents a portion of the total Ethereum holdings.

ETH stakes have steadily increased from 408,627 ETH at the end of December 2024. BitMine said it is currently working with three staking providers as it prepares to launch its commercial MAVAN validator network in 2026. According to Lee’s update, the company acquired 41,788 ETH in the past week, continuing a pattern of weekly purchases with significant additions in January.