Litecoin was first introduced in 2011 as an alternative to Bitcoin. According to its developer Charlie Lee, it was never meant to compete against the biggest cryptocurrency in the market. Instead, it existed to fill the gaps of Bitcoin such as slower transaction process and inaccessibility.
Learning more about Litecoin can give investors like you a clearer understanding of the concepts of the open-source code with slight modifications that are also found in Bitcoin. Find out what Litecoin is all about here at Casino Days India.
A brief history of Litecoin
Litecoin emerged as an ‘altcoin’ and was created by former Google employee, Charlie Lee, in hopes to make a faster and more efficient cryptocurrency than Bitcoin.
Bitcoin’s code has been reprocessed by different altcoins to build their own features. However, Charlie Lee developed Litecoin with almost the identical program and coding but with improved transaction times, fees, and block size.
Lee’s purpose in creating Litecoin so similarly to Bitcoin’s coding is to avoid changing the programming too much. He added that every source code exists and is programmed for a reason, and one only needs to improve on such codes to make it more optimal.
Litecoin basics: How it works
With blockchain technology, Litecoin can process and record clusters of transactions called blocks. Once data is stored in these blocks, they will then be strung together to other blocks to create a chain of information. This will make it difficult for cybercriminals to do malicious activities such as hacking or stealing these digital assets.
Litecoin transactions are recorded and then verified by miners who solve complex mathematical equations to generate a hash. Miners are then compensated for their efforts with newly mined coins. The current block reward for Litecoin mining is 12.5 LTC.
Aside from mining, you can get Litecoin by buying and selling them in the market through different cryptocurrency exchange platforms. Some of the most popular Litecoin exchange platforms are Coinbase, PayPal holdings, and Gemini.
Differences between Litecoin and Bitcoin
While Litecoin uses the exact copy of Bitcoin’s source code, there are still stark differences that separate the two altogether. Here is a table comparing the two cryptocurrencies:
| Category | Bitcoin | Litecoin |
| Mean transaction time | 10 minutes | 2.5 minutes |
| Mining algorithm | SHA-256 | Scrypt |
| Max coin supply | 21 million | 84 million |
| Halving interval | 210,000 blocks | 840,000 blocks |
Litecoin has a faster transaction time due to the Segregated Witness (SegWit) process which was implemented in 2017. It speeds up the process of transactions by dividing the transaction information into two parts. In doing so, there is less information needed in a block which then allows more transactions to get validated at once.
Furthermore, Litecoin uses a newer mining algorithm called Scrypt which is easier to use for new miners. This is because it deviates from using the Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) which are hardware systems specifically designed for Bitcoin mining.
On the other hand, Bitcoin’s mining algorithm, SHA-256, heavily implements ASICs to efficiently mine Bitcoins at the cost of a more complex algorithm and more expensive hardware that may not be suitable for beginners.
Moreover, when Litecoin’s coin supply maxes, it ensures that there will be no inflationary problems that will affect its market. Litecoin halving controls the cryptocurrency’s supply which reduces the circulation and the effects of inflation in the process.
Why invest in LTC?
Because it is one of the first altcoins to exist in the market, people took notice of Litecoin’s advantages and quickly invested in the altcoin as it gained traction over the years. Lee’s cryptocurrency reached its peak when the value of Litecoin rose from $3 in March 2017 to $50 in July 2017.
By the end of that year, Litecoin reached its all-time high when its value soared to $371 per coin due to the increasing interest in cryptocurrencies as a whole. Unfortunately, Litecoin’s heyday came to an end after its price dropped by 32% in April 2021. The Litecoin market crashed to a whopping value of more than $14.97 billion market cap during the same time.
However, this sparked an opportunity for investors to buy low and sell high when Litecoin’s eventual price hike ensued after a bull market. It also helped that Litecoin only requires 20 cents per transaction which is both fast and easy to process.
FAQs about Litecoin
Here are the most frequently asked questions of investors and beginners like you on the Litecoin basics you should know:
What’s Litecoin’s all-time high?
Litecoin topped at $371 in December 2017. The current price of LTC is $198.66.
When was the last Litecoin halving?
The last Litecoin halving was on August 5, 2019 wherein the reward for mining was decreased from 25 LTC to 12.5 LTC per block. The next LTC halving will occur in August 2023.
How many Litecoins are in circulation?
As of August 2021, there are 66,752,615 Litecoins in circulation, which means that there are over 15 million Litecoins left until it’s maxed out.
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As you can see, Litecoin has so many benefits that makes it one of the most appealing altcoins in the cryptocurrency market.
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