According to CoinShares, institutional investors' inflows into cryptocurrencies amounted to $245 million in the first week of February, with 80% of that amount invested in ETH.
In a report, CoinShares analysts note that ether has become the most popular asset for institutional investors to invest in. Meanwhile, the launch of futures on ETH on the CME exchange took place only on February 8. Investments in bitcoin totaled $41.9 million during the week, although institutional investors have invested a total of $2.02 billion in the first cryptocurrency since the beginning of the year.
Researchers believe that big investors are beginning to diversify their cryptocurrency portfolios - moving some funds from bitcoin to ether and other coins. At the same time, there are no signs of profit taking yet - investors continue to buy and hold cryptocurrencies.
"We think investors looking for diversification are increasingly comfortable investing in Etherium. Bitcoin inflows are gradually declining," the analysts wrote.
A total of $2.6 billion was invested in cryptocurrency products in 2021, with institutional investors investing $6.7 billion in such products for all of 2020.
Grayscale Investments remains the largest digital asset management firm, with more than $33.4 billion under management. Investment in the Grayscale Ethereum Trust continues to grow and is now capitalized at $5.1 billion.
Recall that in the evening of February 8, the total capitalization of the cryptocurrency market for the first time exceeded $1.3 trillion.