Ether (ETH, +1.24%) continued its rally on Thursday after the Berlin hard fork on the Ethereum blockchain went live earlier the day, surpassing $2,500 for the first time in history.

  • The No. 2 cryptocurrency by market capitalization was traded around $2,498.91 at press time, just slightly down after it briefly went as high as $2,503.92.
  • Ether’s price has been outperforming bitcoin (BTC, 0%)‘s on Thursday, as the Ethereum blockchain’s much anticipated Berlin hard fork went live early the day.
  • The upgrade, which sets up the network for the much bigger London hard fork in July, incorporates four Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs).
  • The hype around ether is also reflected in the derivatives market, as open interest in ether’s options market rose to a record high above $3 billion on Wednesday.
  • The late-day surge also could be due to news that the Rothschild Investment took at initial $4.75 million stake in the Grayscale Ethereum Trust. Grayscale is owned by CoinDesk parent company Digital Currency Group.