Traders predicted that Ethereum would rise following the launch of spot Ethereum ETFs, making a $20 million bullish bet. Many expect ETH to reach new record highs later this year.

These transactions include puts and calls on options expiring on July 26.

The predictions come as market watchers anticipate the launch of spot Ethereum ETFs on July 23.

“It seems like most traders see the ETF as a catalyst for upward price movement,” said Bartosz Lipinski, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Cube.Exchange.

Market watchers are hopeful that spot Ethereum ETFs can emulate the success of similar Bitcoin funds that launched in January and propelled BTC to an all-time high in March.

Currently, Ethereum is trading 30% below its all-time high of $4,878. Investors invested $20 million in options to be rewarded when the price increased.

About 7% of the 467,220 bets made on trading platform Deribit were made to pay out when the price reached $4,000, making it the largest position to expire on July 26.

More than 31% of trades expiring on July 26 will pay in the $4,100 to $6,000 range. However, Lipinski noted that a “not insignificant amount” of almost 5% of transactions were located at the $3,000 strike level.

Lipinski said this shows that “a reasonable minority of traders took a contrarian stance that ETH could fall on its ETF debut.” He suggested that these transactions provided a hedge against the same sell-off that occurred shortly after the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Lipinski added that bullish bets, that is, call options, outweigh bearish bets, that is, put options, “at almost every expiration date,” indicating that the market is optimistic about the price of ETH in the coming months.

“The more we look into the future, the more bullish it becomes,” Lipinski said. Lipinski added that the number of open contracts for options paying prices of $5,000 and $6,000 on Dec. 27 “is well above all other levels and tells me that the market believes ETH could reach a new high by the end of the year.”

*This is not investment advice.