In a recent interview with CNBC, Tom Lee, Chief Investment Officer at Fundstrat, said that banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan will likely start buying Ethereum to support their upcoming stablecoin projects. He believes Ethereum could soon become a critical part of the banking system, just like Bitcoin became digital gold.
Lee explained that the rise of stablecoins is bringing together traditional finance and crypto. He called stablecoins the “ChatGPT of crypto” because of their rapid growth and the way banks, merchants, and payment companies are adopting the innovation.
He noted that Ethereum is the main network behind stablecoins and compared it to the backbone of the entire system. “Ethereum is also the architecture that future banks will have,” Lee told CNBC. He added, “When Goldman issues a stablecoin and JPMorgan doing it on Ethereum, as a Layer-1 blockchain they’re going to want to secure it by staking Ethereum.”
More than 51% of all stablecoins are built on Ethereum, and they already generate 30% of the network’s fees. Lee said that if stablecoins grow from $250 billion to $2 trillion, as predicted by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Ethereum’s network fees could increase ten times. Lee added that other countries may also begin launching their own stablecoins, increasing demand further.
Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers are also moving fast to regulate this space by introducing the GENIUS Act. This bill was recently passed by the Senate with every Republican and five Democrats supporting it. If this bill is approved, Lee mentioned that stablecoins could bring trillions of dollars into the U.S. Treasury market, which could boost dollar dominance around the world.
Lee’s comment follows his new role as chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies, a Bitcoin mining firm shifting to Ethereum. The company recently raised $250 million to buy Ethereum and hold it as a reserve asset. BitMine wants to get ahead of the banks before they start buying ETH themselves. After the news broke, BitMine’s stock soared over 690% in one day. It went from $4 to nearly $34.
Lee compared BitMine’s move to what MicroStrategy did with Bitcoin. He believes that owning and staking Ethereum will help secure stablecoins and give firms more control over the network. Major companies like Visa, Mastercard, Amazon, and Walmart are also exploring stablecoins. Lee said owning more ETH helps secure the network and earns rewards at the same time.
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