Cryptocurrency ether surged more than 5% on Friday in early Asia trade, as traders comforted that a software upgrade this week ran relatively smoothly.
The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, ether has reached $2130, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. The most since May 2022, it has risen to 80, the most since May 2022.
The upgrade, known as shapella, took effect on Wednesday, a government spokesman said.
By allowing investors to return tokens deposited on the blockchain in exchange for interest, it had raised fears of a sell-off. On Thursday, withdrawal delays were evident, but the lack of wholesale sales encouraged buyers.
A lot of people were on the sidelines during the upgrade, and now that it has gone off without a hitch, everyone is jumping in, said Matthew Dibb, chief investment officer at Astronaut Capital.
The price jumped sharply after 0030 GMT and helped lead larger cryptocurrency Bitcoin to a 10-month high of $30,923.
Liquidity has been quite low, so this would contribute to the sharpness of the move, Dibb said.
The upgrade had previously been expected to have huge sell orders coming through. This didn't happen at all, so every bid is moving the market.