As the largest altcoin Ethereum (ETH) takes firm steps towards surpassing its 2021 ATH, investors' bullish expectations are increasing. At this point, ETH recorded a strong rally, while options traders increased their bullish positions. According to Deribit data, over $5 million was spent on $5,000 expiry options expiring on September 26. Accordingly, options traders predict that ETH will rise above $5,000 before the end of this quarter. Investors are also buying $5,500 and $6,000 futures options, according to the data. OTC platform Paradigm announced that a market participant purchased a December futures call option with a strike price of $7,500. Speaking to Coindesk, Amberdata derivatives director Greg Magadini said in his weekly note to clients that potential targets of $5,000 and $7,200 should be monitored for Etheruem. “With everyone sidelined on Ethereum and market sentiment completely down, there is still a huge amount of room for ETH to recover its losses. Initial targets are $5,000 (a new all-time high) and around $7,200 (ETH/BTC average price 0.06 assuming BTC is around $120,000). Santiment, on the other hand, noted that the persistent selling of retail investors during the Etheruem price increase attracted attention. At this point, according to Santiment, the ETH rally is characterized by continued selling by small investors. “Historically, prices move against the expectations of small investors. On June 16, 2025, and July 30, 2025, Ethereum experienced periods of extreme greed, leading to price corrections.” Stating that small investors are selling, Santiment added that big players are buying the ETHs sold by small investors and that further rise is on the way. Ethereum continues to trade at $4,620 at the time of writing. *This is not investment advice.