The total value of the cryptocurrency market hit a record $3 trillion on Monday, while Bitcoin was trading close to an all-time high.

The market capitalization of cryptocurrencies stood at almost $3.03 trillion at 12.05 p.m. EDT, according to data by digital asset price-tracking website CoinGecko.

The market size has nearly quadrupled this year, as demand for digital coins rises with their functionality and higher interest for decentralized finance, nonfungible tokens, and gaming.

The price of Bitcoin, the world's largest crypto by market size, stood around $66,250 at the time, just short of its all-time high of $67,000 recorded on Oct. 20.

Bitcoin's market cap was almost $1.3 trillion, surpassing the market value of many US tech giants such as Tesla and Meta, formerly known as Facebook.

Ethereum was second on the crypto market with $566 billion in value, above the market size of investment banking firm JPMorgan Chase, while it posted a record high of $4,796 earlier Monday.

Bitcoin and Ethereum's shares of the total crypto market, known as dominance, stood at 41.3% and 18.7%, respectively, according to CoinGecko.​​​​​​​

(Anadolu)