Tom Lee Endorses CZ Post as Bitmine Nears ETH Supply Target
Optimism (OP)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
digitaltoday.co.kr reports that Tom Lee endorsed a post by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) on September 30, signaling optimism for the crypto market. Lee shared a green-toned selfie from Zhao accompanied by the word "Soon..." and replied, "agree. do you own enough crypto". This interaction has been interpreted by the market as a hint toward an October bull run or a rise in Binance Coin (BNB).
Lee previously stated at Korea Blockchain Week that a bull cycle is gaining momentum due to demand for artificial intelligence systems, maintaining a Bitcoin target of $150,000. Meanwhile, Bitmine is nearing its goal of acquiring 5% of the total Ethereum supply through its "5% Alchemy" program. The company reported holding approximately 4.9% of the total supply, placing it at 98% of its accumulation target.
Bitmine is also generating returns by staking 5,067,000 ETH, which represents about 84% of its holdings. Major cryptocurrencies showed a steady rise over the past month, with Bitcoin trading around $83,300 and Ethereum around $2,698. Despite the optimism, Zhao has warned investors not to look for hidden financial advice in his posts. The market is also approaching October 10, a date that saw $19 billion in liquidations last year, adding a layer of caution to the current uptrend.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for OP, measured when this story was written up on 1 October 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Optimism (OP) is currently trading at $0.1296 with a 1-hour buy ratio of 66.8%, indicating strong immediate buying pressure. This short-term intensity contrasts with the 4-hour buy ratio of 52.6% and the 24-hour buy ratio of 52.1%, suggesting that aggressive buying is concentrated in the most recent hour. The volume delta reflects this activity, showing a net inflow of +$106,546 in the last hour compared to +$66,441 over four hours. Over the full day, the volume delta stands at +$478,427, while the cumulative volume delta (CVD) at the 24-hour close is -$501,532. This divergence indicates that while recent trades are heavily skewed toward buyers, the broader 24-hour trend has seen more selling pressure overall. The coin recorded a spot volume of $10,787,736 across 79,675 trades in the last day.
The latest daily buy ratio of 49.5% sits at the 41st percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 50.1% - ordinary for this coin.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for OP, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
The current 1-hour buy ratio of 66.8% is notably higher than the 7-day average buy ratio of 49.7%, marking a +2.4 point increase from the daily average. Trading volume has also accelerated, reaching 1.30 times the average daily volume. This suggests that today is an unusually active day for the coin compared to the preceding week. Over the past eight days, the price has changed by +5.4%, with a total volume delta of +$197,163. While the immediate hour shows intense buying, the weekly context shows a more balanced distribution of net buying days, with only 4 out of 7 days showing net buying activity.