Bitcoin and other virtual currencies have rallied this week as growing support for a controversial software update suggests that a long-feared network split might be averted, and the issue settled…at least for now.

"Traders are excited by the prospect of a resolution to the scaling debate, which is why the price has rallied," Thomas Glucksmann, head of marketing at Hong Kong-based bitcoin exchange Gatecoin, told Bloomberg.

Indeed, bitcoin is up 10% in early trade Tuesday, building on Monday's 20% climb:

And Ethereum is surging...

The reason? Bitcoin miners weren't expected to start signaling for Segwit2x until July 21, but some are already moving to show support in advance of another round of software testing, according to CoinDesk. Support topped 45% of hashing power on Tuesday, including AntPool, BitClub, Bixin, BTC.com and BitFury.