Ether rose above $4,000 over the weekend, locking in its highest daily and weekly closes in roughly three and a half years and surpassing its previous 2024 peak. Market trackers put the latest close at levels last seen in November 2021, leaving the token about 14% below its record high of around $4,860. The sharp move higher squeezed bearish derivatives traders, with about $240 million of short positions liquidated in the past 24 hours, according to aggregate exchange data. Analysts estimate as much as $2.35 billion in remaining shorts could be forced to cover if ether breaches its all-time high. Technical strategists point to ether’s breakout from a months-long descending pattern as confirmation of renewed upward momentum, a development that has rekindled expectations for a wider rally in alternative cryptocurrencies.