Tom Lee (톰 리) predicted that Ethereum will deliver higher returns than Bitcoin over the next several years.

On Aug. 17, local time, blockchain media outlet U.Today reported that Lee made the forecast, saying the ETH/BTC ratio, which shows the relative performance of Ethereum and Bitcoin, is rising.

Lee focused on the ETH/BTC ratio. The ratio has climbed to 0.02994 and is showing signs of breaking out of a long-term downtrend that had reflected Ethereum’s relative weakness in recent years. He said a more favourable environment for Ethereum could create stronger upside momentum than in earlier periods when initial coin offerings, or ICOs, and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, led the market.

He highlighted Wall Street’s tokenisation of assets and the spread of agent-based artificial intelligence as new growth drivers for Ethereum. He said demand for the Ethereum network could rise if stocks, bonds and funds and other real-world assets are tokenised on blockchains and AI agents begin using blockchains.

The ETH/BTC ratio is an indicator of how strong Ethereum is compared with Bitcoin. If the ratio rises, it means Ethereum delivered relatively stronger performance than Bitcoin over the same period. Lee’s outlook can therefore be seen as focusing not only on a rise in Ethereum’s own price, but also on the possibility that some funds in the crypto market could shift from Bitcoin to Ethereum.

Lee expected the ETH/BTC ratio to rise further if this trend continues. He has previously suggested that Ethereum could become key infrastructure for payments and settlement in financial markets.

Bitmine, led by Lee, is also steadily increasing its Ethereum holdings. Bitmine holds about 5.8 million ETH, which corresponds to 4.8 percent of Ethereum’s total supply. The company also bought an additional 9,926 ETH over the previous week. Bitmine’s accumulation is drawing attention because it shows Lee’s long-term outlook is being reflected in actual asset management strategy.

The market is watching whether Ethereum can break out of its long-term relative weakness against Bitcoin and maintain relative strength. If tokenisation and agent-based AI create new demand as Lee expects, whether the ETH/BTC ratio rises further is also set to be a key point to watch.

The tailwind for $ETH in the next few years is larger than those prior cycles of ICOs, NFTs - expect this ratio $ETH/ $BTC to make a sizable move higher https://t.co/pD3CdE4UtB