Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat and Chairman of the Board of BitMine, endorsed the view that Ethereum’s nearly five-year trading range is setting the stage for a larger advance. ETH traded near $2,693 after rising about 86% from its June low of $1,506, gaining roughly 10% for the week, 9% for the month and 71% over three months, compared with Bitcoin’s 40% gain. Lee said the crypto bull market began in late June and expects Ethereum’s strong third-quarter performance to extend into a stronger fourth quarter as institutions raise relatively small crypto allocations. BitMine’s Ethereum Treasury Strategy has accumulated about 5.98 million ETH, valued near $16 billion as of September 21, including 27,562 ETH bought in the previous week. About 5.07 million ETH, worth roughly $13.6 billion at an ETH price of $2,688, was staked. Lee’s broader thesis cites institutional adoption, tokenization, artificial intelligence, Ethereum’s security, liquidity and utility, as well as a shift away from the traditional four-year crypto cycle. He has previously said ETH could reclaim its all-time high and exceed $5,000 by the end of 2026, while outlining longer-term scenarios of $12,000, $22,000 or approximately $60,000 under stronger market conditions.