At the Consensus Hong Kong 2026 conference, BitMine Chairman Tom Lee shared a strong message for crypto investors: don’t lose hope. He said the crypto market’s next big rally depends on Bitcoin turning upward again and that may only happen when gold starts losing strength. According to Lee, that shift could take place later this year.
Gold Won Big But That May Change
Lee said that over the past year, gold has clearly beaten Bitcoin in performance. Gold rose about 73%, while Bitcoin fell around 29%. This gap, he explained, has discouraged many crypto investors and created what feels like a mini downturn in the market. He outlined several reasons why gold has done well: global uncertainty, friendly central bank policies and worries about currency value. Normally, he said, crypto should also benefit from these conditions. But gold gained extra momentum because of strong buying pressure and fear around the global money system.
Gold’s total market value has now grown extremely large, even bigger than the S&P 500. Because gold became so big, its price moves started affecting other markets. He believes this was one reason Bitcoin struggled this year. Still, Lee argued that gold is not always a reliable store of value. Looking at long-term data, he said gold failed to beat inflation nearly half the time over the past 50 years. Bitcoin, in comparison, has beaten inflation in almost every month since it was created.
Lee made a clear claim, the broader crypto market will not fully recover until Bitcoin turns around. And Bitcoin, he said, likely won’t reverse direction until gold starts to weaken. He believes gold may be near its peak now. If gold slows down, investor attention could rotate back into Bitcoin as a digital store of value.
Ethereum’s Pattern Suggests a Strong Bottom
Lee also spoke about Ethereum and addressed investor frustration around its recent price drops. He pointed out that since 2018, Ethereum has fallen more than 50% eight different times. Each time, it later recovered sharply in what he described as a “V-shaped” rebound. According to Lee, this pattern may repeat again.
He said market timing expert Tom DeMark, who works with BitMine, believes Ethereum only needs to touch the $1,890 level again to form what he calls a “perfected bottom.” That would mean the price briefly dips to confirm the low point before starting a stronger recovery.
Beyond price charts, Lee said Ethereum has several long-term growth drivers. He expects large financial firms to increasingly build systems on public blockchains, with Ethereum as a main base layer. He also pointed to growth in stablecoins, creator payments, and AI-related tools connected to blockchain networks. He added that interest from major financial institutions is rising, even if top executives are moving slower than internal tech teams. Lee also mentioned that new apps built on Ethereum could become very powerful and widely used, possibly offering more upside.
BitMine and Ethereum
Tom Lee said that holding BitMine stock BMNR has, at times, been more profitable than holding Ethereum directly because the company is structured to grow its Ethereum per share and generate ongoing rewards. He shared that from June 30 to December 31 of its launch year, Ethereum rose about 22%, while BitMine stock climbed roughly 500% in the same period. In 2026, even during a market drop, Ethereum fell about 32% while BitMine declined around 21%, meaning it held value better than ETH.
Lee explained that BitMine’s stock BMNR price is still strongly linked to Ethereum’s price direction, but the company adds extra return drivers on top. It earns staking rewards from its Ethereum holdings, currently staking about two-thirds of its ETH which he said generates around $200 million per year and could rise to about $300 million annually when fully staked. That added yield helps boost shareholder value beyond simple price movement.
He also compared BitMine with other large crypto-focused public vehicles (which he called DATs, or digital asset treasury companies). According to Lee, the two dominant DATs today are MicroStrategy on the Bitcoin side and BitMine on the Ethereum side. He noted that BitMine holds around 4.4 million ETH and is about five times larger than the next Ethereum-focused treasury company, with roughly 14 times more trading volume. Higher trading volume, he said, makes it easier for investors to enter and exit positions and helps attract more capital.
Lee also highlighted BitMine’s investment in Beast Industries, the company linked to creator MrBeast and Worldcoin. He compared Beast Industries to how earlier generations had firms like Charles Schwab for baby boomers, BlackRock and Blackstone for Gen X, and Robinhood and SoFi for millennials. In his view, Beast Industries could play a similar role for Gen Z and Gen Alpha as their wealth grows over time.
Best Days Are Ahead
Lee closed his talk with an optimistic message. He acknowledged that many investors feel tired and discouraged, but stressed that crypto development is still early compared to traditional markets.
His core prediction is simple: once gold cools down and Bitcoin regains strength, the broader crypto market can rally again. And if Ethereum confirms its bottom near $1,890, it could be one of the main leaders of the next phase. For now, Lee’s advice is patience and not giving up too soon on crypto’s long-term story.
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Source: https://www.cryptonewsz.com/tom-lee-says-crypto-bitcoin-gold-reversal/
