Ethereum (ETH) price has retreated nearly 4 percent in two days after briefly testing $3,400 on Wednesday. This move came as a surprise, especially to investors carrying leveraged long positions, and led to $65 million in liquidation in the futures market. However, more striking than the price fluctuation was the fact that although Ethereum reached its highest level in the last two months, professional investors took a neutral to negative stance in the derivatives markets.
Futures data shows that ETH monthly contracts are trading at an annualized premium of approximately 4 percent compared to the spot price. These rates below 5 percent throughout the market generally indicate periods when sellers do not feel sufficient confidence and the expectation of decline prevails. Behind this cautious atmosphere, the weakness seen in the overall cryptocurrency market stands out. During the same period, gold and the S&P 500 index reached all-time highs in 2026, accelerating capital outflow from risky assets.
DApp Demand and Network Data Pressure ETH
Ethereum’s decline to $ 3,280 is in line with the approximately 28 percent decrease in the total cryptocurrency market value since October 6, 2025. In particular, the decrease in interest in decentralized applications (DApps) puts pressure on the Ethereum price. Fading demand for Memecoin launches and declining transaction volumes have weakened economic activity on the network.
Although the number of transactions on the Ethereum mainnet has increased by 28 percent in the last 30 days, network fees have declined by an average of 31 percent over the same period. In contrast, rival networks such as Solana and BNB Chain saw an average 20 percent increase in fees while transaction numbers remained relatively stable. Even more striking, the number of transactions on the Base network, Ethereum’s largest scaling solution, dropped by 26 percent. This picture suggests that usage in the Ethereum ecosystem has weakened qualitatively.
Staking, Institutional Flows and Market Confidence
Low activity on the Ethereum network also directly affects staking returns. While the ETH burning mechanism comes into play as demand on the network increases, low usage weakens this effect. Currently, approximately 30 percent of the total ETH supply is locked in staking, and falling returns reduce the incentive for investors to protect their positions.
The picture is not very bright on the corporate side either. Ethereum spot ETFs traded in the US have recorded only limited net inflows of $123 million since January 7. On the other hand, the majority of public companies accumulating ETH are still at a loss. For example, Bitmine Immersion’s market capitalization is approximately 13 percent below the ETH holdings on its balance sheet. Similarly, the value of ETH held by Sharplink exceeds the market value of the company. This situation shows that corporate purchases have not yet recovered investor confidence.
In parallel with these developments, a cautious outlook prevails in the options market. The fact that put options are traded at a 6 percent premium compared to call options indicates that professional investors do not expect a strong rise to $ 4,100 in the short term. Talk of stronger institutional entries into Bitcoin ETFs on the same days stands out as a separate news headline showing that capital is turning to alternatives instead of Ethereum.
As a result, the weak momentum in the Ethereum price points to a deeper situation that cannot be explained by technical levels alone. The decline in DApp demand, declining network fees, and concerns about staking returns are weighing on investor psychology. The fact that corporate entries are limited also supports this picture. In the short term, the direction of ETH appears to depend more on the risk appetite in global markets and the course of capital flowing into alternative assets, rather than developments within Ethereum.
