- Female investors in crypto jump in January, compared to same period last year
- Ethereum and Dash see largest month-on-month increases in global trading activity
A new wave of female investors are helping to drive the surge in demand for cryptoassets such as bitcoin and ethereum, according to new data from global investment platform eToro.
The percentage of female investors in bitcoin and ethereum has jumped to 15% and 12% respectively over the last year, up from 10% and 11% at the beginning of 2020.
Meanwhile, the data also shows the average age of investors globally in both major cryptoassets has dropped in recent years. The average bitcoin investor was 37 years old in 2017 vs 35 years old now, while ethereum investors average age has fallen from 35 to 32 years old over the same time period.
The demographic changes come amid a surge in the price of bitcoin; the cryptoasset rose from approximately $8,000 to end the year near $30,000. This trend has continued in 2021, with bitcoin hitting an all-time high of $41,826 in early January, before falling back, it is currently around the $37,000 mark.
The eToro platform data shows that more investors than ever have benefited from this rise, with the number of investors in both major cryptoassets jumping in the last 12 months.
In total, the number of people holding bitcoin on the platform at the end of January 2021 compared with the same time a year ago has more than doubled, seeing a 106% increase. Ethereum has followed suit, up 82% year-on-year.
Ethereum also saw a substantial price increase and hit an all-time high this week, and was the second most traded cryptoasset of January. Compared with the previous month, the smart contract platform’s token saw a 313% increase in trading activity.
Meanwhile Dash, a digital currency positioned as a direct rival to bitcoin, saw the largest month-on-month increase in trades last month, rising 348% to put it back into the top 10.
XRP was the only cryptoasset to see less trading activity in January than the month before. The token, which is the native currency for the real-time gross settlement system Ripple, has seen its trading restricted on eToro for US clients in recent weeks after US regulators filed a lawsuit against Ripple.
Simon Peters, market analyst and crypto expert at eToro, commented: “The sector’s broad appeal is, more and more, being reflected by its diversifying investor base.
“Drilling down into the numbers, it is unsurprising to see both bitcoin and ethereum dominating January’s trading activity after the year they have both had, but this market is
growing all the time and there are opportunities across a range of cryptoassets, as increased demand for alternative cryptoassets like Cardano and Dash has shown.
“Nonetheless, these assets are volatile and should only be used as a small proportion of a diversified portfolio.”
| Top cryptoassets invested in globally by eToro clients – January 2021 | |||
| January rank | Cryptoasset | Percentage change in trading activity MoM | December rank |
| 1 | Bitcoin | 167% | 2 |
| 2 | Ethereum | 313% | 3 |
| 3 | Cardano | 252% | 4 |
| 4 | XRP | -53% | 1 |
| 5 | Stellar | 184% | 5 |
| 6 | Litecoin | 136% | 6 |
| 7 | Bitcoin Cash | 182% | 8 |
| 8 | Dash | 348% | 12 |
| 9 | MIOTA | 175% | 9 |
| 10 | Tron | 85% | 7 |
Note – The data represents the most bought real cryptoassets (i.e. unleveraged positions) by investors on the eToro platform globally in January 2021. Data accurate as of 01.02.2021.
eToro was founded in 2007 with the vision of opening up the global markets so that everyone can trade and invest in a simple and transparent way. The eToro platform enables people to invest in the assets they want, from stocks and commodities to cryptoassets. We are a global community of more than 18 million registered users who share their investment strategies; and anyone can follow the approaches of those who have been the most successful. Due to the simplicity of the platform users can easily buy, hold and sell assets, monitor their portfolio in real-time, and transact whenever they want.
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