Ether reclaims $2,100 as derivatives markets remain cautious

Ether climbed back above $2,100 after a 43% slide that bottomed at $1,750 and prompted a 22% relief bounce, yet derivatives markets still signal fear. Monthly futures traded at a 3% premium, below the 5% level considered neutral, and traders have shown little optimism over the past month; without renewed risk appetite from bulls, bears are likely to remain in control.

Ethereum has underperformed the broader crypto market by 9% in 2026, but it continues to lead in Total Value Locked (TVL) and fee generation once layer-2s are included. Deposits on the Ethereum base layer make up 58% of the industry and exceed 65% when adding Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism; by comparison, the largest Solana application barely tops $2 billion while the biggest Ethereum base-layer DApp holds over $23 billion.

Base-layer fees ranked third, generating $19 million over 30 days, with layer-2s adding another $14.6 million.

ether, ethereum, tvl, layer-2, base, arbitrum, optimism, solana, futures premium, fees