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Within the last hour, Bitcoin's market capitalization pushed above the $1 trillion level.

The significance of this event will not be lost of those working in financial as only a handful of assets ever achieve this status. While Bitcoin may have started as a mere curiosity in 2009, it only took it 12 years to become a global asset with a $1 trillion market capitalization.

For those unfamiliar with Bitcoin's unique price history, 10,000 BTC were auctioned at the Bitcointalk.org forum in March 2010 for $50, but no buyer was found.

According to 8marketcap, besides Bitcoin, there are only seven tradable assets with a market capitalization surpassing $1 trillion.

It took Amazon 27 years to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization took 27 years.

Gold's market capitalization crossed $1 trillion in 1972 according to inflation-adjusted numbers.

Before speculating on whether BTC will overtake gold's market cap and its status as a global store of value, it's important to consider that valuing a multi-faceted technology asset such as Bitcoin is a rather unfair comparison with traditional investments.