Tom Lee: Ethereum Set to Become Core Payment Layer for Finance and AI Industries

Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine, said Ethereum is positioned to become the core payment layer for both the finance and AI industries, citing its developer ecosystem and smart-contract capabilities. He compared current market pessimism to past crypto-winter lows, suggesting short-term sentiment may mask stronger fundamentals. Lee argued that Ethereum-based payments could lower intermediaries and transaction costs, enable programmable financial products, and provide the trustless infrastructure needed for autonomous AI agents to transact. The commentary could bolster bullish institutional narratives around Ethereum and accelerate interest in on-chain payment infrastructure, but realization depends on scaling improvements, ongoing developer activity and broader institutional adoption.