If you want a solution that accepts a minimum and maximum amount of decimal places, this should work:
/**
 * Displays up to 4 decimal places, with a minimum of 2 decimal places, trimming unnecessary zeroes
 *
 * @param mixed $number
 * @param int $minimumDecimals
 * @param int $maximumDecimals
 * @return string
 */
function rate_format($number, int $minimumDecimals = 2, int $maximumDecimals = 4): string
{
    $formatted = number_format($number, $maximumDecimals, '.', ',');
    $minimumLength = strpos($formatted, '.') + $minimumDecimals + 1;
    $extra = rtrim(substr($formatted, $minimumLength), "0");
    return substr($formatted, 0, $minimumLength) . $extra;
}
// rate_format("1.2500") returns "1.25"
// rate_format("1.2525") returns "1.2525"
// rate_format("1.25256") returns "1.2526"
// rate_format("1") returns "1.00"
This is hard coded to use the US locale, but should be easily adjusted for other locales.