Tom Lee
Chairman of the Board, Bitmine Immersion Technologies; Co-founder and Head of Research, Fundstrat Global Advisors, Bitmine Immersion Technologies; Fundstrat Global Advisors
Tom Lee, who co-founded Fundstrat and chairs the board of Bitmine Immersion Technologies, told Proof of Talk Paris 2026 that the authentication, identity and payment speed that machine-to-machine transactions need work better on crypto systems than on traditional rails.
Why the room needs them.
Tom Lee, Bitmine Immersion Technologies chairman and Fundstrat co-founder, keynoted Proof of Talk Paris 2026 on blockchains and agentic AI. The same afternoon the programme listed him for a Bitmine-presented workshop on its MAVAN Ethereum staking platform.
The full account.
Tom Lee is a co-founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, whose team page lists him as a Managing Partner and Head of Research. That biography states that he co-founded Fundstrat in 2014, after serving as J.P. Morgan's Chief Equity Strategist from 2007 to 2014, and that he was earlier a Managing Director at Salomon Smith Barney. A June 2025 filing by Bitmine Immersion Technologies with the US Securities and Exchange Commission adds that he was at J.P. Morgan from 1999. He is a CFA charterholder with a BSE from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The Fundstrat Granny Shots ETF team page states that he founded Fundstrat Capital in spring 2024 and lists him as its Chief Investment Officer and as lead portfolio manager of the Fundstrat Granny Shots US Large Cap ETF.
On 28 June 2025 Bitmine's board elected Lee a director and Chairman of the Board, according to that filing, which also announced a private placement of approximately $250 million to implement an Ethereum treasury strategy. On 25 March 2026 Bitmine launched MAVAN, the Made in America Validator Network, its proprietary Ethereum staking platform. On 9 April 2026 its common stock moved from NYSE American to the New York Stock Exchange under its existing ticker, BMNR. Company releases filed with the SEC on 1 June and 8 September 2026 continue to describe Lee as Chairman of Bitmine.
Lee spoke at Proof of Talk Paris 2026 as Chairman of the Board of Bitmine Immersion Technologies and Co-founder and Head of Research at Fundstrat. On 2 June 2026 he delivered the keynote "Blockchains Are Central to the Future of Finance and Agentic AI" on the Hecto Main Stage. CoinDesk, reporting from the summit, wrote that he argued AI systems would need immediate payment mechanisms for machine-to-machine transactions, and quoted him: "Whether it's authentication or identity or payment speed, all of these work better on crypto systems." The programme also listed him that afternoon for "Bitmine Presents Proof of Stake: A MAVAN Workshop", a side event presented by Bitmine on the X Ventures Masterclass Stage.
What Tom believes about the next ten years.
Years of shipping.
Lines that keep proving correct.
“Whether it's authentication or identity or payment speed, all of these work better on crypto systems.”
“Robots are already going to dominate most traffic on the internet.”
“MAVAN represents a critical step in our vision to build one of the leading staking and on-chain infrastructure platforms globally.”
What they have built, written, and backed.
Built
- Fundstrat Global AdvisorsCo-founded in September 2014 after leaving J.P. Morgan; the firm's team page lists him as Managing Partner and Head of Research.
- Fundstrat CapitalFounded in spring 2024; lists him as Chief Investment Officer and lead portfolio manager of the Fundstrat Granny Shots US Large Cap ETF.
- Bitmine's Ethereum treasury strategyChairman of the Board since 28 June 2025, when Bitmine announced a private placement of approximately $250 million to implement an Ethereum treasury strategy.
The next Proof of Talk is in Abu Dhabi.
Louvre Abu Dhabi, 3–4 December 2026. Admission is by application, and the room is capped at 2,000.
Request access