#ProjectCrypto Bitcoin believers think it's digital gold

The first Bitcoin was mined on January 3, 2009. The subprime mortgage meltdown was in full swing and banks didn't look like particularly safe places to store your wealth at the time. It's no surprise that a new form of digital currency was invented and launched in that era.

More than 16 years later, Bitcoin is still going strong. With a total market value of $2.34 trillion and an inflation-proof limit to the creation of new coins, it's the largest name in the crypto sector. So-called Bitcoin maximalists, like Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) chairman Michael Saylor, expect Bitcoin to replace old-school currencies like the dollar and the euro over time. From that point of view, Bitcoin could be the only cryptocurrency or currency worth owning in the long haul.