[Digital Today reporter Yoonseo Lee] Ethereum has rebounded while holding the $2,300 level, but derivatives markets are not yet convinced of a strong shift to an uptrend.

On April 15, Cointelegraph reported that ether futures open interest increased to $25.4 billion. It also said spot ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw net inflows of $248 million over the past 10 days.

Ether rebounded from a low of $1,940 recorded on March 29 and traded above $2,300 on April 15. The rebound also lifted futures open interest by 26 percent, and the market is watching whether this reflects a change in supply and demand after 10 weeks of failing to regain $2,400.

Derivatives indicators, however, have not yet sent a clear bullish signal. The market is focusing on the fact that perpetual futures funding rates have not held steadily above 5 percent since last Friday. Funding rates fell below 0 percent several times, suggesting stronger demand for downside leverage. In a neutral market, the indicator typically stays in a 5 to 10 percent range to reflect the cost of capital.

Spot demand was relatively firm. Alongside inflows into U.S.-listed spot ether ETFs, Bitmine Immersion announced a $312 million purchase of ether. Bitmine holds 4.87 million ETH valued at $11.46 billion.

The issue is that it is difficult to say an uptrend has been cemented by institutional buying alone. Based on CoinGecko data, Bitmine's ETH holdings are trading 13 percent below its purchase price. Assets under management in spot ether ETFs stood at $13.7 billion as of April 15, down from $20.5 billion three months ago. Ether failed to regain $2,400 even as the S&P 500 index set a fresh record high the same day.

On-chain indicators are also cited as a burden. The market sees activity across DApps shrinking due to the impact of a 2026 bear market, including meme coin issuance platforms, synthetic derivatives trading, collateralised lending, digital collectibles, decentralised exchanges (DEX) and cross-chain bridges. Some prediction markets and real-world asset (RWA) areas held up relatively well, but they also failed to lift activity on the Ethereum network.

In this environment, investors are re-examining whether Ethereum can adequately absorb future growth in DApp demand. The emergence of rival blockchains focused on solving specific problems, such as Hyperliquid and Plasma, is also a headwind. Ethereum's weekly DApp revenue fell to $11 million from $24 million per week in early February.

The core logic for holding Ethereum long term is the expectation that rising on-chain processing demand will activate the burn mechanism and amplify the effect of reducing supply. For now, a recovery in network demand is not supporting that. Losses at companies building strategic Ethereum reserves and intensifying competition in the DApp market are also cited as reasons derivatives indicators have not turned bullish despite higher demand for ether futures.

In the end, the recent rebound in Ethereum appears to have been driven by spot buying, but derivatives markets and on-chain indicators remain cautious. For Ethereum to climb back above $2,400, it will likely need confirmation not only of institutional inflows but also of a recovery in network activity and DApp revenue.