More than 90% of Ether holders are now in profit as the cryptocurrency’s price has increased 5.7% over the last seven days, but traders are seemingly uncertain about ETH rising above the $4,000 level, as they mount up on short bets.

Short bets against $4,000 keep piling up

CoinGlass data shows much as $1.43 billion of short positions could be liquidated if Ether ( ETH ) reaches $4,000.

It comes as a recent X post from IntoTheBlock said that “90.8% of ETH holders are now in profit, the highest since June.”

“Interestingly, the 9.2% of holders still at a loss hold just 2.8% of the total supply,” it said, suggesting that “potential sell pressure from this group may have a limited impact.”

The last time Ether crossed the $4,000 price level was March 12, when Bitcoin ( BTC ) reached a previous high of $73,679, according to CoinMarketCap data .

Over 90% of ETH holders are in profit, but doubts linger over $4K breakout image 0

Ether was trading at $3,582 at the time of publication. Source: CoinMarketCap

Since then, Ether has been stuck in a narrow range, trading between $2,223 and $4,066, even after the spot Ether ETFs launched on July 23 . Ether traders had anticipated that the launch might lead to surging price action like Bitcoin saw after the spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January.

Funding rates suggest Ether has more upside ahead

Several traders are optimistic that Ether is still on track to return to its yearly high levels.

In a Nov. 28 market report , CryptoQuant contributor ShayanBTC pointed out that Ether funding rates have seen a “significant uptick” in recent weeks. 

Still, they said funding rates are below the levels seen when Ethereum hit its all-time high of $4,900, indicating that Ether hasn’t yet “entered an overheated state.”

Ether’s funding rate on the crypto exchange Binance was 0.0162% at the time of publication.

Related: Leveraged ETH ETF demand up 160% since Trump win — Ether price to $4K?

Pseudonymous trader Ash Crypto said to their 1.3 million X followers on Nov. 28 that Ether is “very close” to reaching $4,000. 

Pseudonymous crypto trader Borovik was even more optimistic, saying in a Nov. 23 X post that “If Ethereum hits $15,000 this cycle, I’ll get my first ever tattoo. The ETH logo.”

Crypto analyst Lark Davis has been emphasizing the $15,000 price target for Ether to his 1.2 million X followers since July.

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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.