The value of cryptocurrencies hits the $ 3 trillion mark

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Cryptocurrency mining in Russia (archive image)

Photo: MAXIM ZMEYEV / AFP

Investors around the world are investing huge sums of money in Bitcoin, Ethereum and thousands of other cryptocurrencies.

According to CoinGecko, their value has now exceeded the three trillion dollar mark for the first time.

Accordingly, the market capitalization of the globally traded cryptocurrencies climbed to $ 3.02 trillion.

CoinGecko analyzes the market for more than 10,000 different digital currencies.

Analysts explained the increase on the one hand with the stock market launch of the first exchange-traded index fund (ETF) linked to Bitcoin on Wall Street in mid-October.

Other investors wanted to protect their money from rising inflation in Europe and the US, suspected Susannah Streeter of Hargreaves Lansdown.

This is an "extremely risky strategy" because crypto currencies are extremely prone to fluctuations - their value can fall quickly due to legal regulations or even just comments on the Internet.

Bitcoin was quoted at $ 66,249 on Monday evening - an increase of more than six percent within 24 hours.

Ethereum, the world's second most important cryptocurrency, also gained ground, reaching a new all-time high of $ 4,787.

Bitcoin makes up 40 percent of the market, Ethereum 20 percent.

The Shiba Inu currency had reached a total value of 40 billion dollars at the end of October - in a few days this sum melted down by ten billion dollars.

SwissQuote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said she feared a bubble like the internet bubble in the early 2000s.

mmq / AFP