“Litecoin is a peer-to-peer Internet currency that enables instant, near-zero cost payments to anyone in the world.”
When I started my crypto adventure in 2018, one of the first coins I was interested in was Litecoin. Litecoin is a Proof-of-Work coin and was one of the first “forks” of Bitcoin. In other words, Litecoin took Bitcoin’s open-source base code and adjusted it slightly. Litecoin was created in October 2011 by Charles Lee former Google engineer. Charles Lee has worked for Coinbase (one of the most popular US Crypto Exchange Brokers) from 2015 to 2017. We can consider, due to the similarity, Litecoin as an improved, faster and safer Bitcoin, and the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Also, Litecoin is among the top 3 performing crypto assets of 2019, even beating out Bitcoin itself.
How does Litecoin differ from Bitcoin?
Without going into technical details, there are few differences between Litecoin and Bitcoin. The rate at which transactions are confirmed, or the Bitcoin algorithm, allows a transaction to be added to the public ledger (blockchain) every 10 minutes. Litecoin has a faster confirmation rate, 2.5 minutes, which helps to avoid one of the only types of fraud that can happen with crypto, “double-spending.”
The Litecoin algorithm will allow a total of 84 million Litecoins to be created. This maximum capacity is 4 times that of Bitcoin, mirroring the transaction confirmation rate 4 times faster (mining). Although similar, Litecoin stands out because of the speed of the transaction, which is convenient for online purchases and exchanges.
Litecoin Cryptographic Measurement
Litecoin was created on the Bitcoin blockchain base, so the names of the derivatives are similar. Satoshi became Litoshi, milli-bits – milli-bitcoins, etc.
Litecoin is divided in:
1 LTC = 1 Litecoin
0,01 LTC = 1 cLTC (1 Litecent)
0,001 LTC = 1 mLTC (1 milli-Litecoin)
0,000 001 LTC = 1 µLTC = 1 uLTC (1 micro-Litecoin)
0,000 000 01 LTC = 1 Litoshi
How to Store Litecoins
Litecoin can be stored in a digital wallet (on your computer or mobile phone), on a specialized hardware device, such as Ledger Nano S, or Trezor Wallet, or on an online “bank”, such as the aforementioned Coinbase. Litecoin is also divisible, making it possible to store and send fractions of a coin to anyone who has a Litecoin wallet, at any time and regardless of location.
The Future Of Litecoin
Although the financial future is always an unknown, like Bitcoin, Litecoin is a cryptocurrency with enormous long-term potential growth, that consistently stayed in the crypto market top ten by market cap, an endeavor that many other altcoins can't claim. Litecoin is supported by most countries' regulatory entities, as it is among the earliest cryptocurrencies on the market. It is also extremely popular and has a plethora of partners and merchants using LTC as a payment gateway. Also, Litecoin developers are exploring ways to make it Fungible - similar to the likes of Monero and other privacy coins. Litecoin does over $2 billion dollars a day in trading volume. If we were to compare this to other cryptocurrencies, it is the 4th most traded crypto on the market. Litecoin has established itself as a solid digital currency over the years, but on the other hand, its roadmap is unclear...
According to analyst Mati Greenspan, among others, there's a high probability of a Bitcoin bull run sometime within the next 12 to 18 months, many still believe Litecoin lives in the shadow of Bitcoin and as such will mirror its tendencies. In the same timeframe, economists are predicting an economic recession. Could that be the final catalyst for a massive cryptocurrency bull market? And if so, will altcoins such as Litecoin increase its value exponentially?
Speculations aside... All I truly know its that I'm HODLing on to my LTC!
Free Litecoin Faucets
Hourly
All links are my referral codes.
