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Ether Breaks $2,500 for the First Time in Wake of Berlin Fork

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

Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:41 p.m. Published Apr 15, 2021, 9:27 p.m.
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Ether 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.

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  • The No. 2 cryptocurrency by market capitalization 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's on Thursday, as the Ethereum blockchain's much anticipated Berlin hard fork went live earlier in 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.

UPDATE (April 15, 23:48 UTC): Adds news of Rothschild's investment.

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While precious metals and stocks bounce from their worst levels of the session, crypto remains near the day's low.

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  • Bitcoin's tumble back to the $84,000 area prompted more than $650 million in liquidations across the crypto market.
  • While gold and stocks have bounced off their worst levels of the session, crypto remains at the day’s lows, prompting questions about how low the price could go.
  • A funding indicator suggested a temporary bottom could be near, while one analyst suggested a turnaround may not come until the Fed gets far looser with monetary policy.