Ethereum's native token, ether (ETH), continues its powerful surge, sparking frenzied activity in the Deribit-listed options market, where traders are making bullish bets on further upside. Over the past 24 hours, traders have spent more than $5 million on the $5,000 strike call option expiring on Sept. 26, per data tracked by Amberdata. The buyers are betting on an ETH breakout above $5,000 by the end of this quarter. As of writing, ether changed hands at $4,670, representing a 26% gain for the month, according to CoinDesk data. Traders also picked up calls at the $5,500 and $6,000 strikes and bull call spreads. OTC tech platform Paradigm said in a Telegram update that a market participant lifted the December expiry call at the $7,500 strike. According to analysts, there is plenty of upside in ether, which has lagged not only bitcoin but also XRP in setting record highs during this cycle. "With everyone sidelined from ETH and sentiment being completely in the dumps, there remains a lot of room for ETH to catch up. Immediate targets are $5,000 (breaking into new ATH territory) and around $7,200 (given the mid-range ETH/BTC price of 0.06 with BTC around $120k)," Greg Magadini, director of derivatives at Amberdata, said in a weekly note. According to blockchain analytics firm Santiment, the price surge of ETH is characterized by persistent selling from retail traders. "Prices historically move in the opposite direction of retail traders' expectations. There was an instance of extreme greed back on June 16, 2025 and July 30, 2025, which led to price corrections. But traders have shown FUD and disbelief as the asset makes higher and higher prices," Santiment said on X. "With key stakeholders accumulating loose coins that small $ETH traders are willing to part with right now, prices are showing very little sentiment resistance from breaking through and making history in the near future," the firm added. ETH is now just 4.4% short of its all-time high of $4,861 hit in November 2021. It's peer, BTC, topped its 2021 peak in March last year and has rallied into six figures since then. Throughout this period, ETH remained range-bound between $2,000 and $4,000. Read more: Bitcoin Holds Near $120K, Ether Rallies Towards $4.7K on Trump's Comment, Fed Rate Cut Bets
