Litecoin (LTC), the peer-to-peer digital currency originally designed to be a faster alternative to Bitcoin, is celebrating its eighth birthday today.

According to a recent blog post by the Litecoin Foundation, the Litecoin Network was publicly launched on Thursday, October 13 at 03:00 (GMT) with the first genesis block mined earlier in the week.

Since that time, Litecoin has grown to a $3.62 billion market cap with more than $500 billion in total transactions conducted since its inception, without a moment of network downtime.

“A lot has happened in 8 years, we have seen two major bull market cycles that have propelled crypto to the forefront of public consciousness and new technologies such as Segwit, Lightning and MimbleWimble emerge advancing the usability and prospects of the space,” states the Litecoin Foundation. “While we don’t know what the future holds, we will be right there alongside you for the journey and look forward to every moment of it.”

Despite Litecoin’s growth, recent reports suggest the foundation is currently struggling with a depleted treasury. However, the group is actively looking to drum up more capital through strategic partnerships, including recently selecting Celsius Network (CEL) to manage a portion of its treasury funds for lending.

Disclaimer: This article’s author has cryptocurrency holdings that can be tracked here. This article is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. Always conduct your own due diligence before making investments.