Tom Lee tips lack of leverage and gold ‘vortex’ for Ether's 21% slump

Fundstrat caput of probe Tom Lee argues Ether's caller slump should beryllium seen arsenic “attractive” arsenic its fundamentals stay strong, and that it has lone fallen owed to a deficiency of leverage and a formation to precious metals. 

The archetypal 4th of 2026 is shaping up to beryllium Ether’s (ETH) third-worst Q1 successful history, with the plus down 21% truthful acold this year, according to CoinGlass. 

However, Lee said the terms driblet has travel astatine a clip erstwhile web on-chain enactment and fundamentals person continued to grow.

Ethereum regular transactions deed an all-time high of 2.8 cardinal connected Jan. 15, and progressive addresses successful 2026 soared to a highest of 1 cardinal per day, helium said.

During the crypto winters of 2018 and 2022, Ethereum transaction enactment and progressive wallets declined, “which is antagonistic to what we person seen successful the past 12 months,” said Lee. 

“Thus, non-fundamental factors are arguably much the factors explaining the weakness successful ETH prices.”

Lee said 2 factors are keeping Ether prices suppressed. Leverage has not returned to crypto since the Oct. 10 crash, portion the surge successful precious metallic prices has “acted arsenic a ‘vortex’ sucking distant hazard appetite from crypto.”

BitMine buys dip aft ETH drops 25% successful a week

Lee’s Ethereum treasury steadfast appears to beryllium betting connected a recovery. In the past week, BitMine acquired a further 41,788 ETH. 

“BitMine has been steadily buying Ethereum, arsenic we presumption this pullback arsenic attractive, fixed the strengthening fundamentals,” helium said.  

“In our view, the terms of ETH is not reflective of the precocious inferior of ETH and its relation arsenic the aboriginal of finance.”

Related: Crypto selloff is apt owed to US liquidity drought: Analyst

BitMine present holds 4.28 cardinal ETH tokens, oregon 3.55% of the full supply, and is 70% of the mode toward its people of 5%. Around 2.87 cardinal ETH has been staked. 

However, the integer plus treasury neared $7 billion successful unrealized losses arsenic Ether prices melted down. 

Most of the terms slump has travel implicit the past week alone, with ETH tanking much than 25% from astir $3,000 to a carnivore marketplace debased of $2,200 connected Monday, earlier a insignificant recovery.

ETH is seeing its third-worst Q1 successful history. Source: CoinGlass

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