BitMine Stakes $219M in ETH as Tom Lee Reaffirms Bullish 2026 Outlook

BitMine staked about $219.2 million in ETH while keeping a much larger Ethereum balance unstaked. At the same time, Tom Lee restated his bullish case that Ethereum could reach higher levels into 2026 as network usage grows.

BitMine Stakes $219.2 Million in ETH, With Billions Still Unstaked

BitMine staked about $219.2 million worth of Ether on Friday, according to on chain transfers shared by the X account @TedPillows. The transactions showed BitMine linked wallets sending large ETH amounts into staking deposit addresses within hours.

On chain records listed several deposits in the same window, including transfers of roughly 16,992 ETH, 20,768 ETH, and 24,544 ETH. Together, the moves supported the claim that BitMine deployed about $219.2 million into Ethereum staking on the day.

At the same time, BitMine still holds a much larger Ether position that remains unstaked. The post said the firm holds about $10.759 billion in Ethereum that it could stake later, which would far exceed the amount deposited so far.

Ethereum staking locks ETH into the network in exchange for validator participation and rewards. As a result, large deposits often attract attention because they can shift a portion of supply out of liquid circulation while increasing long term exposure to the protocol.

Tom Lee Keeps Bullish Ethereum Target for 2026

Meanwhile, Tom Lee reiterated a bullish view on crypto heading into 2026, saying Ethereum could rise from around $3,000 to $7,000 or $9,000 in early 2026, according to a clip circulated on X. Lee also said he still sees a path for Ethereum to reach $20,000 if the network becomes competitive with global payment rails.

Lee tied the case to utility rather than trading momentum. In the clip, he pointed to scale, settlement, and real world usage as the main drivers, arguing that Ethereum could shift from a speculative asset toward financial infrastructure if it handles large transaction volumes reliably.

He has made similar arguments in past market commentary, where he framed Ethereum’s long term upside around adoption and network effects. In that view, broader use by exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and tokenization platforms matters more than short term price action, because it increases demand for blockspace and settlement on the base layer and related networks.

The latest comments came as crypto investors track whether Ethereum’s ecosystem can expand beyond trading and DeFi into payments and settlement for real businesses. That question often centers on fees, throughput, and user experience, since global payments require speed and predictable costs at scale.