Ether is starting on the same path that saw Bitcoin’s price multiply over 100 times since 2017, says Tom Lee, the executive chair of Ether treasury company BitMine.
Lee said in an X post on Sunday that he first recommended Bitcoin (BTC) to clients of his research firm, Fundstrat, in 2017 when it was worth around $1,000, and it had seen multiple price declines of up to 75% in the years since.
However, Bitcoin has now “100x from our first recommendation,” Lee said. “We believe ETH is embarking on that same Supercycle.”
Ether (ETH) had lagged behind Bitcoin for months in early 2025 as Bitcoin broke new price highs. ETH reached an all-time high of $4,946 in August, while Bitcoin continued to climb to its peak of over $126,000 in October.
As of Monday, Bitcoin has fallen 25% from its high, and Ether has dropped over 35% from its peak as the market has contracted. Lee said that such volatility is due to doubt and is “discounting a massive future.”
“To have gained from that 100x Supercycle, one had to stomach existential moments to HODL,” he added.
Ether nears price of long-term holders’ buy-ins
CryptoQuant contributor Burak Kesmeci said in a note on Sunday that with Ether currently trading around $3,150, it is only around a $200 drop away from hitting the average cost basis of long-term accumulators, or ”those who have been ‘patiently stacking.’’
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He added that Ether has only ever dipped below that level one time, in April, when US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs took effect.
Kesmeci added that around 17 million ETH has flowed into accumulation addresses this year, and the total balance held by long-term wallets has grown to 27 million ETH, from 10 million ETH at the start of the year.
He said if ETH drops below $2,900 to the cost basis of these long-term holders, then “it is unlikely to stay there for long” as that price has historically been “one of the strongest long-term accumulation opportunities.”
Ether had dropped to a 24-hour low of $3,023, but has slightly recovered to trade flat over the past day at $3,185.
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