<p>Bitcoin rose to a four-week high on Monday, climbing for a second consecutive session, driven in part by liquidation of some short positions that have accumulated in the virtual currency's recent three-month downtrend.</p>.<p>The world's largest cryptocurrency hit $44,524.18 , the highest since mid-January. It was last up 3.8 per cent at $44,024. Since hitting a roughly six-month low on Jan. 24, bitcoin has gained about 35per cent.</p>.<p>Ether, the second-largest digital currency in terms of market capitalization, touched a three-week peak of $3,180 and was last up 3.1 per cent at $3,153.21. It dropped to a six-month trough in late January, but since then, ether, the token used for the Ethereum blockchain, has surged about 47per cent.</p>.<p>"The current rise came after considerable range-bound price action that saw volumes drying and shorts increasing," said Joe DiPasquale, chief executive officer at BitBull Capital, which manages crypto hedge funds.</p>.<p>"Typically, when the market is heavily leaning on one side of a trade, too long or too short, the price can move to counter that weight and squeeze positions," he added.</p>.<p>Blockchain data provider Glassnode, in its latest research report on Monday, said its charts showed that bitcoin shorts have been under pressure last week, "with a minor skew towards short side liquidations."</p>.<p>But it added that the magnitude of the liquidation remains "fairly lackluster," suggesting a short-squeeze is just one factor, among many others, driving the rally in bitcoin.</p>.<p>The crypto market has been in recovery mode in recent sessions, posting institutional inflows of $85 million last week, marking the third week of inflows totaling $133 million, according to a report from digital asset manager CoinShares released on Monday.</p>.<p>Bitcoin led all inflows, with $71 million, the largest since early December and the third straight week of inflows, with a total of $108 million. For the year, however, bitcoin posted net outflows of $60 million.</p>.<p>Ether, on the other hand, posted net outflows of $8.5 million in the week ended Feb. 4, its 9th straight week of outflows, totaling $280 million. That represents 2.2 per cent of assets under management, according to CoinShares.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos:</strong></p>
<p>Bitcoin rose to a four-week high on Monday, climbing for a second consecutive session, driven in part by liquidation of some short positions that have accumulated in the virtual currency's recent three-month downtrend.</p>.<p>The world's largest cryptocurrency hit $44,524.18 , the highest since mid-January. It was last up 3.8 per cent at $44,024. Since hitting a roughly six-month low on Jan. 24, bitcoin has gained about 35per cent.</p>.<p>Ether, the second-largest digital currency in terms of market capitalization, touched a three-week peak of $3,180 and was last up 3.1 per cent at $3,153.21. It dropped to a six-month trough in late January, but since then, ether, the token used for the Ethereum blockchain, has surged about 47per cent.</p>.<p>"The current rise came after considerable range-bound price action that saw volumes drying and shorts increasing," said Joe DiPasquale, chief executive officer at BitBull Capital, which manages crypto hedge funds.</p>.<p>"Typically, when the market is heavily leaning on one side of a trade, too long or too short, the price can move to counter that weight and squeeze positions," he added.</p>.<p>Blockchain data provider Glassnode, in its latest research report on Monday, said its charts showed that bitcoin shorts have been under pressure last week, "with a minor skew towards short side liquidations."</p>.<p>But it added that the magnitude of the liquidation remains "fairly lackluster," suggesting a short-squeeze is just one factor, among many others, driving the rally in bitcoin.</p>.<p>The crypto market has been in recovery mode in recent sessions, posting institutional inflows of $85 million last week, marking the third week of inflows totaling $133 million, according to a report from digital asset manager CoinShares released on Monday.</p>.<p>Bitcoin led all inflows, with $71 million, the largest since early December and the third straight week of inflows, with a total of $108 million. For the year, however, bitcoin posted net outflows of $60 million.</p>.<p>Ether, on the other hand, posted net outflows of $8.5 million in the week ended Feb. 4, its 9th straight week of outflows, totaling $280 million. That represents 2.2 per cent of assets under management, according to CoinShares.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos:</strong></p>