ETH Futures Open Interest Rises As Institutional Investors Return

Key takeaways:

Institutional ETH accumulation remains robust as Ether ETFs and Bitmine Immersion lead a healthy, spot-driven recovery.

Lackluster DApp revenue and negative ETH funding rates suggest that traders are skeptical of the rally.

Ether (ETH) price managed to sustain above $2,300 on Wednesday, distancing itself from the $1,940 lows seen on March 29. The recent rally has caused ETH futures open interest to reach $25.4 billion, indicating increased demand for leveraged positions. The movement suggests a potential turn in momentum for ETH bulls after 10 weeks of failed attempts to reclaim the $2,400 level.

To determine whether the shift in positioning is driven by bulls, one must assess the ETH futures funding rate. The ETH perpetual futures funding rate has failed to hold above 5% since Friday, indicating a lack of confidence among bulls. 

The metric has dipped below 0% multiple times, indicating excess demand for bearish leveraged positions. Under neutral conditions, the indicator should range between 5% and 10% to compensate for the cost of capital.

Still, one could argue that such data reinforces that Ether’s recent rally to $2,350 has been sustained by spot demand.

US-listed Ether spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) accumulated $248 million in net inflows over the past 10 days, validating the thesis of healthy spot-driven Ether bullish momentum. In parallel, the digital asset treasury company Bitmine Immersion (BMNR US) announced the acquisition of $312 million worth of ETH. Bitmine now holds 4.87 million ETH, equivalent to $11.46 billion.

While institutional accumulation is generally a positive sign, Bitmine’s ETH holdings are trading 13% below their acquisition cost, according to CoinGecko data. Similarly, US-listed Ether ETF assets under management stood at $13.7 billion on Wednesday, down from $20.5 billion three months prior. Ether’s failure to reclaim $2,400 also happened as the S&P 500 index jumped to a new all-time high on Wednesday.

Weak Ethereum network activity, increased competition 

Part of investors’ reduced appetite for cryptocurrencies can be pinned to the declining activity in decentralized applications (DApps). Almost every corner of the cryptocurrency industry has been negatively impacted by the 2026 bear market, including memecoin token launch platforms, synthetic derivatives trading, collateralized lending, digital collectibles, decentralized exchanges and cross chain bridges.

The few positive highlights, including prediction markets and real-world assets, had no impact on Ethereum network activity. Investors are starting to question whether ETH is well-positioned to capture an eventual surge in demand for DApps, given the emergence of competing blockchains focused on solving specific issues, such as Hyperliquid and Plasma.

Related: ETH/BTC ratio hits 10-week high as Ether outpaces Bitcoin–Are new price highs next?

Ethereum’s weekly DApps revenue has plummeted to $11 million per week, down from $24 million in early February. The primary reason for investors to accumulate ETH is the expectation of higher onchain processing demand and the subsequent burn mechanism, which creates incentives for long-term holding. 

Despite the increased demand for ETH futures, derivatives metrics failed to flip bullish. Among the potential causes are the losses in Ethereum strategic reserve companies and increased competition in the DApps industry.