Bitcoin (BITCOMP) has got its upward momentum back in the last seven days, the cryptoasset rallying back to the $39,000 mark this morning amid further signs of interest from institutional investors.

The price crossed through $39,000 overnight as yet more high-profile figures from the fund management world say they may increase their exposure.

The latest big name looking in the mix is noted value investor Bill Miller, via the eponymous Miller Opportunity Trust. In a regulatory filing on Friday the trust, which has $2.25bn of assets, said it "may seek investment exposure to bitcoin indirectly by investing in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust."

The technicals are strong too. Analysts at independent trading firm TradingShot point to bullish signals from its 50-day moving average, which can be used to analyse price trends.

The BTC/USD exchange recently closed above a previous peak, and TradingShot now expects Bitcoin to undergo “a sustainable uptrend” in February should the 50-day moving average hold strong.

Ethereum trading on CME starts this week 

Today sees the long-awaited start of trading in ethereum (ETH-X) futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a move which has already helped boost it to record-breaking prices last week.

The CME listing for ethereum futures has sparked further buying by new entrants to the market because it provides a way for sophisticated investors to hedge their risk against positions that they may be holding on the underlying asset.

As a technical tool for institutional investors, this could be a positive for those still considering an allocation to ethereum. The potential to reduce downside risk through hedging could act as an incentive to hold a long position, and thus boost institutional demand, which in turn could benefit retail investors.

Strategists are positive, with JPMorgan reportedly telling clients in a note: “The listing of ethereum futures on a regulated exchange should serve to enhance the crypto market structure by allowing investors to gain exposure to the second most important cryptocurrency as a diversifier to bitcoin, or for simply hedging existing ethereum exposures.” This was something we also touched upon in our institutional report.

Having the ‘CME stamp’ also brings further credibility to ethereum itself, and to the crypto space in general. Without a doubt, it is another key step on the road to wider adoption.

eToro data reveals gender divide in crypto

Only 15% of bitcoin traders are women, highlighting a clear gender imbalance in the world of cryptocurrency, according to new data from our own platform.

eToro spoke with Bloomberg and other outlets about the figures, which showed that while the percentage of female investors increased from 10% at the beginning of 2020, indicating an uplift amid a surge in the price of bitcoin, the number remains minimal.

The same pattern was seen in ethereum where there was only a small rise from 11% to 12%. We expect this number to grow over time as investment markets continue to increasingly reflect real demographics.

£500m fund manager says it’s “perfect time” to own bitcoin

One of the few funds to make money during the financial crisis has been investing in bitcoin.

The £484m Ruffer Investment Company, which has made a profit for investors through each of the past three major market crashes, bought bitcoin in November and saw the investment more than double in a month, according to an interview in The Telegraph.

Duncan MacInnes, one of the managers of the strategy, told the paper: “We used to be sceptics, but everything changed in 2020. Negative interest rates and bond yields are everywhere, the war on cash has accelerated and our lives are far more digital than a year ago. Legitimate institutions are starting to buy in.

“The environment for bitcoin, which is a bit like a digital gold, could not be better.” The manager has retained a position, with the fund still holding around 2.5% of its total assets in bitcoin.

Bitcoin miners make $1bn in a mont

Revenues from bitcoin miners hit 3-year highs in January after spiking to more than $1bn, according to data from The Block.

Amid a flurry of trading activity and soaring prices for bitcoin, which peaked at $42,000 last month, the revenue miners have been earning has rocketed. 

The $1.09bn figure for January is just off the peak achieved in late June of 2017 when mining revenue soared to $1.25bn.

Soaring prices in this bull run have seen the number of active wallets on the Bitcoin blockchain jump, with the 7-day moving average figure increasing to over 1.1 million. Like the mining revenues, this figure has not been seen since 2017.

The data shows that $977m came from the network’s block subsidies, amid a trend that has seen mining bitcoin become more expensive recently due to a bidding war for the latest mining equipment.

A bitcoin supply shortage, coupled with the soaring price, saw miners’ daily revenue per terahash second (TH/s) of computing power increase to as much as $0.25, which has not been seen since mid-2019, according to reports.

I’m going to Miami (for crypto)

Miami wants to become the new hotspot for cryptoassets, according to Francis Suarez, the mayor of the city since 2017.

In an interview with Forbes published on Sunday, Suarez said politicians in Miami were looking into regulations used in other crypto-friendly areas like Wyoming and New York in an effort to promote regulatory incentives for crypto and blockchain in Florida.

“[Miami is] making sure that we have the most progressive crypto laws,” said Suarez. “We want to make sure that we believe that if all things are equal, we win. So, we just want to equalize the playing field. We want to make sure that nobody has an advantage over us based on laws that are easily changeable.”