Litecoin is a form of cryptocurrency created in 2011, two years after Charlie Lee (a former Google engineer) released Bitcoin. Litecoin, at its initial stages, stood as a solid competitor to Bitcoin. Still, with the discovery of new coins, their popularity decreased due to the saturation of the coins.
Litecoin was measured as the ninth-largest crypto coin according to market capitalization when Charlie Lee announced Litecoin as one of the largest popular Bitcoin Forum. He called Litecoin The 'Lite Version of Bitcoin’ because it has so many features as Bitcoin.
So what is Litecoin, and how is it different from Bitcoin? All this will be discussed in this article.
What is Litecoin?
Litecoin, also known as LTC, is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency and open source software project released under the MIT/X11 License. Litecoin is usually likened to Bitcoin because they share similar features, and it's an altcoin of Bitcoin.
Like every other decentralized crypto, Litecoin is not issued by the government and not regulated by The Central Bank, the only body the society trusts to give money. But, unlike fiat currencies, the supply of Litecoin is stable. It is generated by a cryptocurrency process called mining.
Mining involves processing the Litecoin transaction list. The mining block gets verified by mining software and made visible to every miner who wants access. Mining cryptocurrency requires specialized hardware because most processing units of computers are not fast enough for mining so that miners can mine Litecoin with personal computers. Litecoin network offers almost zero cost payment by individuals or organizations. It uses the POW (proof-of-work) algorithm to secure its networks. It requires that one party prove that a necessary amount of computational effort has been expanded to all other participants. Litecoin is a worldwide medium of Exchange without an intermediary in transaction processing.
Bitcoin Vs Litecoin
Cryptocurrency has always drawn different opinions. In addition, there have always been recent debates on how it should be regulated to ascertain its legitimacy. But with the wide popularity that cryptocurrency bears, like Litecoin and Bitcoin, it is essential to know what it is and when to invest in it. But before discussing the differences, it is necessary to understand what exactly these coins are.
So, just like it was discussed in the introduction, Litecoin is a global digital payment option that uses Blockchain technology to make payments and trade coins. It is an Altcoin extracted from Bitcoin. On the other hand, Bitcoin is the most recognized crypto coin globally because of its uniqueness and high value. It is the leading coin created in 2009. It has turned so many people who had an insight into it and bought it at the early stages into billionaires today.
However, below are the fundamental differences between Litecoin and Bitcoin.
Bitcoin was launched in 2009, while Litecoin was created 2years later (2011).
Bitcoin was created by Satoshi Nakamoto, while Charlie Lee created Litecoin.
While these two coins are proof of work, Bitcoin uses the standard SHA-256 hashing algorithm. In contrast, Litecoin uses a new hashing algorithm known as Scrypt.
The average transaction time for Bitcoin is 10 minutes, while Litecoin takes just 2.5 minutes to generate a block of transactions. (Note: Litecoin is four times faster than Bitcoin)
Bitcoin's block rewards half every 210,000 blocks, and Litecoin half every 840,000 blocks.
The total limit supply for Bitcoin is 21 million, while Litecoin has an absolute limit supply of 84 million.
Note: The initial reason why Litecoin was launched was to create a faster version of Bitcoin.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Litecoin
Litecoin is a P2P (peer-to-peer network) based on an open-source software licensed by MIT/X11, enabling transactions globally. An open-source encryption protocol guides the creation and trade of Litecoin, and any central agency
does not guide it.
However, here are some advantages of Litecoin to note.
The most peculiar attribute of Litecoin is its work speed compared to Bitcoin.
Transactions have a minimum commission.
It is built on a solid Scrypt algorithm that makes mining faster compared to other altcoins.
You can easily exchange for other cryptocurrencies on Blockchain using "Atomic Swap".
You can complete transactions without using any middle man and with fewer transaction fees.
Disadvantages
The anonymity of Litecoin creates a bad image for the coin as it is used most times by DarkNet users for illegal transactions.
Mining is centralized.
It has a minimal pattern of recovery in case of theft or loss.
No Central Authority manages it.
Litecoin is based on an obsolete Bitcoin version
How to Buy and Sell Litecoin
Litecoin is a significant and popular Altcoin on the crypto market space bought globally and has gained recognition on market capitalization. Litecoin can be easily purchased and sold by choosing the right platform to trade on. You can sell and buy Litecoin through crypto-to-crypto or fiat-to-crypto exchange platforms.
Most crypto exchange platforms expect you to complete their KYC (know your customer) and AML (anti-money laundering) checks. You will be asked to upload your means of identification for verification. You can trade Litecoin on Binance and Tradefada Spot Exchange as well as other wallets.
Conclusion
Having read the above article, you can see now that Litecoin is fast and has low transaction cost compared to Bitcoin. It is also widely accepted as one of the major coins. You can't find every coin on the top cryptocurrency exchanges, but you can always find Litecoin. However, Litecoin has historically been difficult to get out of Bitcoin's shadow. It also doesn't offer much, which makes it as unique as Ethereum and Cardano. Nevertheless, those who invested in Litecoin at the appropriate time have achieved good results.
Please understand that apart from the present features and rewards of Litecoin, no one can predict what the future is saying about this coin. So, you should do thorough research before you invest in any cryptocurrency, and you should always trade what you can lose.
Have you decided to trade or invest in Litecoin? If yes, you can join the team of crypto traders by visiting our crypto spot Exchange today at www.tradefada.com.
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