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

More than 90% of Ether holders are now in profit as the cryptocurrency rose 5.7% over the last seven days, but traders are seemingly uncertain about whether ETH can break back above the critical $4,000 level, with traders mounting 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 reaches $4,000.

It comes as recent data from IntoTheBlock shows 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,” the data revealed, 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 $96,170 reached its previous high of $73,679, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Ether is 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 ETF launched on July 23. Ether traders were anticipating the launch would lead to similar price action that 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. 

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

At the time of publication, Ether’s funding rate on the crypto exchange Binance is 0.0162%.

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

Pseudonymous crypto trader Borovik is 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.