Ethereum and Dash are seeing the biggest month-to-month growth in global trading activity.

A new wave of women choosing to invest is helping fuel the rise in demand for cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum, the latest data unveiled by eToro shows.

The percentage of women investing in bitcoin and ethereum has increased to 15% and 12%, respectively, over the past year, up from 10% and 11% in early 2020.

Meanwhile, the data also shows that the average age of investors buying the two major cryptocurrencies has dropped globally in recent years. The average bitcoin investor was 37 in 2017 compared to 35 now, while the average age of ethereum investors has dropped from 35 to 32 over the same period.

The demographic changes came as the price of bitcoin increased; the value of this cryptocurrency increased from around USD 8,000 to nearly USD 30,000 at the end of 2020. This trend continued in 2021, with bitcoin's value now hovering around USD 46,000.

"The great appeal of the cryptocurrency sector is increasingly being reflected in the diversification of the investor base," Simon Peters, market analyst and cryptocurrency expert at eToro, said. 

He added that looking at the numbers, it is not surprising that both bitcoin and ethereum are dominating January's trading activity after a very good year. However, it is a market that is growing all the time and there are opportunities to invest in many cryptocurrencies, as shown by the increased demand for alternative assets like Cardano and Dash.

"Nevertheless, these assets are volatile and should only be used as a small part of a diversified portfolio," Peters added.