Ether (ETH, +2.64%) proceeded its rally on Thursday after the Berlin fork that is difficult the Ethereum blockchain went live early in the day the day, surpassing $2,500 for the first time in history.

The number 2 cryptocurrency by market capitalization ended up being traded around $2,498.91 at press time, just somewhat down after it quickly went as high as $2,503.92.

Ether’s price has been bitcoin that is outperformingBTC, +0.02%)’s on Thursday, because the Ethereum blockchain’s much anticipated Berlin hard fork went live early the afternoon.

The update, which sets up the network for the much larger London fork that is hard July, includes four Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs).

The buzz around ether is also mirrored in the derivatives market, as open curiosity about ether’s choices market rose to a record high above $3 billion on Wednesday.

The rise that is late-day might be because of news that the Rothschild Investment took at initial $4.75 million stake within the Grayscale Ethereum Trust. Grayscale is owned by CoinDesk parent company Digital Currency Group.