Ethereum to $9,000 and XRP ETFs Break Records: Institutional Adoption Drives Price Expectations

Treasury Companies Bet on Ethereum and XRP

The institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies continues to gain momentum. While Tom Lee, Fundstrat analyst and BitMine chairman, issues an ambitious Ethereum forecast, XRP ETFs are recording a remarkable influx of capital.

BitMine Acquires Ethereum on a Large Scale

Tom Lee's treasury company BitMine already holds $12 billion in ETH ^[1]. Just this Tuesday, the company acquired 29,462 ETH worth $88 million from BitGo and Kraken ^[1]. "We are an important entity paving the way for Wall Street to enter the blockchain through tokenization," Lee explained ^[1].

Ethereum Forecast: $7,000 to $9,000 Possible

In an interview with CNBC, Lee now predicts that Ethereum could easily reach a price "between $7,000 and $9,000" as early as the first half of 2026 ^[1]. Currently, the second-largest cryptocurrency is trading at $2,920, down 1.7 percent compared to the previous week ^[1].

Lee's forecast is based on the increasing tokenization of financial products. The tokenization of stocks, bonds, and funds is advancing at a rapid pace and could make Ethereum the most important network enabling this structural transformation of the financial world ^[1]. According to the crypto expert, rather than viewing Ethereum merely as a speculative token, it should be classified as fuel for a new financial system on the blockchain ^[1].

The ETH price could therefore increasingly reflect actual usage—transactions processed, assets issued, and capital flows through smart contracts ^[1]. The upside potential depends less on narratives and more on how much financial activity migrates to the network ^[1].

XRP ETFs Surpass 100 Million Mark

In parallel, XRP ETFs are writing new records. In particular, the Franklin Templeton ETF has exceeded a fund volume of $191 million and now holds over 100 million XRP ^[2]. In total, asset managers hold XRP worth $1.25 billion on their books ^[2].

With a market capitalization of $112 billion, this already represents 1.1 percent of the entire Ripple market—notably after just over a month since the launch of these financial products ^[2]. Currently, Ripple Coin is trading at $1.85 ^[2].

Extreme Price Forecasts for XRP

Ambitious forecasts are also circulating for XRP. YoungHoon Kim, who describes himself as the "smartest person in the world" and claims to have an IQ of 276, issues a far-reaching price forecast in an X post: "XRP could potentially rise to $1,000 in the next ten years" ^[2]. This would correspond to a spectacular price increase of 53,000 percent ^[2].

Market Environment Remains Challenging

For 2025, Lee draws a mixed conclusion. Until October, it would have been a decidedly bullish crypto trading year, but the liquidation cascade triggered then reminds the BitMine chairman of the FTX collapse three years ago in its dramatic nature ^[1]. It is therefore no wonder that market participants need around eight weeks to adjust to the changed conditions ^[1].