Tom Lee Forecasts Ethereum Reaches $10,000 by 2028
Ethereum (ETH)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
finance.yahoo.com reports that BitMine chairman Tom Lee believes Ethereum could easily exceed $10,000 by 2027 or 2028. Lee attributes this potential surge to a new crypto bull cycle, Wall Street tokenization, and growing AI adoption. He stated that entering another bull cycle should be enough to push ETH back above $5,000.
The addition of demand from tokenized financial assets and AI systems could drive prices into the five figures. Lee noted that stablecoin adoption previously helped Ethereum reach near $5,000 during the last market expansion. He argued that autonomous AI systems will strengthen demand for blockchain-based payments and digital identity.
"The more AI evolves, the more important crypto is," Lee said, suggesting blockchain networks will provide settlement infrastructure for machines. This optimism aligns with BitMine's holdings, which include approximately 5% of Ethereum's circulating supply. Lee estimates the broader market is 95% through the downturn by time and 90% by price. His forecast covers the next one to two years rather than an immediate end-of-2026 target.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for ETH, measured when this story was written up on 26 August 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Ethereum is trading at $2,506.78 with a 24-hour buy ratio of 51.2%, indicating a slight majority of buyers over sellers. The 1-hour buy ratio stands at 55.0%, showing stronger immediate buying pressure compared to the 4-hour ratio of 40.4%. Volume delta reflects this short-term strength with a positive +$7,944,358 in the last hour, contrasting with a -$11,321,838 delta over 4 hours. Over 24 hours, the volume delta is +$14,758,006, and cumulative volume delta closed at +$18,069,472. This data suggests that while hourly buying is active, the broader 4-hour trend shows net selling pressure. The flow indicates a mixed immediate sentiment with short-term buyers outweighing sellers, but longer intraday trends showing distribution.
The latest daily buy ratio of 46.8% sits at the 16th percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 49.5% - weaker buying than most days.
Twenty-four hours later
What ETH did over the 24 hours after the story broke. The market moves for its own reasons; this is what happened, not what the story caused.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for ETH, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Over the preceding week, the average buy ratio was 51.4%, making the current 24-hour ratio of 51.2% nearly identical to the weekly norm. The latest day's buy ratio is -0.2 points below the weekly average, showing a marginal shift away from buying bias. Volume for the day is 0.48x the weekly average, indicating significantly lower trading activity than usual. This is an ordinary day for the coin in terms of sentiment, but an unusual one for volume, as activity is less than half the weekly average. The weekly volume delta was +$343,346,378, showing that despite lower daily volume, the week has seen substantial net buying.