The hype around ether is also reflected in the derivatives market.

Ether (ETH, -2.06%) 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, -2.76%)'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.