NEW YORK (Reuters) - Inflows into cryptocurrency funds and products have already hit a record $4.2 billion for the first quarter, reflecting growing institutional investor interest, CoinShares data showed.<\/p>\n
FILE PHOTO: A representation of virtual currency Bitcoin is seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration taken March 15, 2021. REUTERS\/Dado Ruvic\/Illustration<\/p>\n
The previous high for crypto inflows was $3.9 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, driving total inflows for 2020 to $6.7 billion, the asset managers data shows.<\/p>\n
Bitcoin, the worlds largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, has had the most inflows so far this year with $3.3 billion, while ethereum was second with $731 million.<\/p>\n
Bitcoin hit a record high of $61,781.83 on Saturday, but has fallen since then as investors consolidated gains and amid plans by India to ban cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n
As bitcoin moves into the mainstream and captures greater attention, it will likely draw further scrutiny from regulators in the United States and Asia, Jesse Cohen, senior analyst at Investing.com, said.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the virtual currency was at $55,415.<\/p>\n
The potential for more scrutiny and tighter regulation remains the biggest headwind for bitcoin, Cohen added.<\/p>\n
Crypto assets under management have also surged to a peak of $55.8 billion, CoinShares data showed. Last year, AUM for the sector reached $37.6 billion. Five digital asset investment providers now oversees assets of more than $5 billion.<\/p>\n
Grayscale is still the largest digital currency manager, with $43.73 billion in assets, while CoinShares, the second biggest, oversees nearly $5 billion in assets.<\/p>\n
CoinShares analysis further showed investors continue to choose investment providers that simply track the price of digital assets, so-called passive funds, over those that have active management strategies.<\/p>\n
Passive funds have AUM of $54.1 billion, compared with $786 million for those with active strategies.<\/p>\n
Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Alexander Smith<\/p>\n
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Here is the original post: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Inflows into cryptocurrency funds and products have already hit a record $4.2 billion for the first quarter, reflecting growing institutional investor interest, CoinShares data showed. FILE PHOTO: A representation of virtual currency Bitcoin is seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration taken March 15, 2021 Continue reading
\nCryptocurrency inflows hit record high of $4.2 billion, CoinShares says - Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"