Ether (ETH) price has risen 6.4% from its March 30 $1,768 low but the altcoin has struggled to regain the $2,000 level.
Traders show little confidence in a strong recovery as Ether is currently 44% down year-to-date, and the premium on Ether futures relative to spot markets is below the neutral threshold.
Whales and market makers lack confidence in Ether's performance, with the Ether options market indicating strong risk-aversion sentiment.
Despite reduced network activity, Ethereum adoption remains strong in decentralized finance (DeFi) as new use cases emerge.