Litecoin

What is Litecoin (LTC)

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Litecoin is a cryptocurrency that uses a faster payment confirmation schedule and a different cryptographic algorithm than Bitcoin. Litecoin was created as a fork of Bitcoin in 2011. A fork happens whenever a community makes a change to the blockchain’s protocol, or basic set of rules. Forks create a second blockchain that shares all of its history with the original, but is headed off in a new direction.

What is Litecoin (LTC)?

1. Who Controls Litecoin (LTC)?

The creator of litecoin has sold off all of his holdings in the cryptocurrency he created.

Charlie Lee, who founded litecoin in 2011, said on Reddit Wednesday that he had “sold and donated” all of his litecoin tokens over the past few days — except for some physical ones he keeps as “collectibles.”

Lee said he is sometimes accused of talking about the price of the digital currency on Twitter for “personal benefit.”

“Some people even think I short LTC (litecoin)!” he said. “So in a sense, it is conflict of interest for me to hold LTC and tweet about it because I have so much influence.”

He added: “I have always refrained from buying/selling LTC before or after my major tweets, but this is something only I know. And there will always be a doubt on whether any of my actions were to further my own personal wealth above the success of litecoin and cryptocurrency in general.”

The litecoin founder did not disclose the amount of tokens sold Wednesday but said it was a “small percentage” of daily volume on the cryptocurrency exchange GDAX and “did not crash the market.”

Lee even said he had been accused of trying to manipulate people into buying bitcoin cash, a bitcoin spin-off which split from the original blockchain back in August.

2. Who Created Litecoin (LTC)?

Litecoin is one of the earliest alternative cryptocurrencies created in 2011. It was created by a developer and former Google employee named Charlie Lee – a computer scientist and graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Lee started a career in technology before starting Litecoin and worked for internet giant Google. He later moved to Cryptocurrency Exchange Coinbase as Director of Engineering in 2013.

In late 2017, Lee left Coinbase to continue Litecoin development full-time. Lee is now the executive director of the Litecoin Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the project.

3. Litecoin (LTC) Pros and Cons

Litecoin (LTC) Pros:

  • Liquidity: With a market cap of $11.6 billion, Litecoin is currently one of the 10 most valuable cryptos. That size means Litecoin has relatively high visibility and high liquidity. Its average daily trading volume is over 2 million coins. Liquidity is extremely important in the crypto market given the extreme volatility in the space. Without enough liquidity, a single seller could potentially crash the price of a cryptocurrency. Fortunately, LTC investors will never have to worry about getting out of their positions.
  • Reliability: When it comes to the reliability of the underlying software, Litecoin investors can rest easy knowing Litecoin is one of the oldest cryptos and was essentially created as a fork in the Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) blockchain. Like Bitcoin, LTC is open-sourced and decentralized. Its developer was computer scientist named Charlie Lee. Lee previously worked for Alphabet’s Google (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) and now works for Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN). He’s certainly no slouch. Lee’s initial goal was to make Litecoin be to Bitcoin what silver is to gold.
  • Performance: Lee wanted to improve upon Bitcoin, so Litecoin has several superior features. Bitcoin transactions take, on average, just under nine minutes to verify. LTC transactions take only about 2.5 minutes to verify. That superior speed suggests Litecoin may prove easier to scale over time. In addition, Litecoin transactions are cheaper than Bitcoin transactions. The average Bitcoin transaction costs about $4.38.  The average LTC transaction fee is only 2.6 cents.

Litecoin (LTC) Cons:

  • Uphill brand battle: In the world of crypto, Bitcoin is boss. While Litecoin may have been built to be an alternative to Bitcoin, most investors see Ethereum (CCC:BTC-USD) as the primary alternative to Bitcoin. Whether or not it’s fair, the fact that Litecoin was a fork of Bitcoin hurts its reputation as a true alternative. As of now, many investors lump Litecoin in with the other eight cryptos that are among the top 10 in value other than Bitcoin or Ethereum.
  • Losing market share: Another discouraging factor for Litecoin investors is that the crypto has been losing market share, not gaining it. During the last huge cryptocurrency run back in 2017, Litecoin ended the year as the fifth largest crypto by market cap. Today, it is No. 10. In the past three years, the price of Litecoin is up 44.9%. In that same time, the price of Bitcoin is up 365.4%. Ethereum is up 348.6%. Litecoin’s creator dumped his coins: One of the most devastating headlines for Litecoin investors in recent years came in 2017 when Lee announced he had sold all of his Litecoin. Lee timed the sale nearly perfectly, announcing it in December 2017 within weeks of the market top.
  • Lee said he sold his stake so he could not be accused of manipulating the Litecoin market. He said it was a conflict of interest for him to tweet about Litecoin when he owned such a large stake in it and was such an influential voice.  Even if his reasons for selling were admirable, it doesn’t instill confidence in the crypto when the founder dumps all of his holdings.

4. The Difference Between Litecoin (LTC) and Traditional Currencies

The main difference between them is, the traditional currency is a centralized system and bitcoins are decentralized one and peer-peer systems. Hence there are no central authorities to regulate rules and regulations on a bitcoin transaction. But a traditional currency is strictly regulated by the governmental authorities. Both the bitcoins and fiat currency have values which can be used for buying and selling of goods in the market. 

  • Flexibility

With traditional currency functioning for five days a week and die to transaction restriction, there is a chance of freezing of currency. There is no limit in the number of currencies, being printed, and hence when there is inadequate currency, it will affect the buyers and sellers, resulting in inflation.

  • No Fraudulent Activity

If you want to transact with a traditional currency system, the users have to provide personal details like name, address, phone number, and lots more. So, with the internet technology, the malicious user will be able to hack the account details of the traditional currency system easily. Traditional currency can suffer from double-spending, where the same money is used for more than one transaction.

  • Reduced Cost

In a traditional banking system, for making a national transaction, it will take 2-3 working days, and the transaction fees will be high. In the case of international transactions, the transaction fee will be very higher, and it will take 15 days to complete the transaction. In a Cryptocurrency system like bitcoins, there is no transaction fee for making a national transaction. The transaction will also take place in seconds or within 24 hours.

5. Is It Safe To Use Litecoin (LTC)?

Litecoin (LTC) has the same use-cases as the first and the largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. It is a global peer-to-peer payment network that uses LTC as its native currency. Anyone on the internet can use Litecoin to make fast and secure payments without relying on a bank or financial service provider. Today, many online as well as brick and mortar stores accept Litecoin payments. It is a faster, cheaper, more secure, and transparent means of payment. In addition, investors and traders consider Litecoin a high-potential investment asset. This is why Litecoin has maintained the fifth spot among the thousands of other cryptocurrencies.

How Does Litecoin (LTC) Work?

Litecoin shares many features with the largest cryptocurrency by market cap – Bitcoin. However, the two cryptocurrencies are not the same, even though they have a lot in common.

Like Bitcoin, Litecoin is an open-source blockchain that uses a proof-of-work consensus mechanism, enabling its users to dedicate computing power and earn Litecoin in exchange for verifying blocks. Though the consensus mechanism is the same, the algorithms used to validate blocks are completely different. While Bitcoin uses the Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA), Litecoin uses a consensus algorithm called Scrypt.

Other than its algorithm, Litecoin differs from Bitcoin in two major ways: its total supply and its block production rate. Litecoin increased the rate at which blocks are solved by four times that of Bitcoin, while also increasing the supply four-fold, to 84,000,000.

Though its code originates from Bitcoin, Litecoin is a cryptocurrency serving a purpose in its own right. It acts as a faster, lighter version of Bitcoin, rather than trying to be its competition. On top of that, Litecoin has a dedicated development team that works on improving the network, and many of the network upgrades they created ended up being used on the Bitcoin network (such as SegWit and Lightning Network).

How to Make Money with Litecoin (LTC)?

Here are quite a few approaches for us to make money with Litecoin (LTC), such as Mining, Buying & Hold Bitcoins, Accept Payments in Litecoin (LTC), Earning Litecoin (LTC) by turning into an Affiliate, Lending Litecoin (LTC), and Micro Earnings, and Trading.

  1. Litecoin (LTC) Mining – Start mining with Antminer L7
  2. Buy & Hold Litecoin (LTC)
  3. Accept Payments in Litecoin (LTC)
  • Determine how you’ll use Litecoin (LTC)
  • Find a Litecoin (LTC) wallet
  • Find a Litecoin (LTC) payment processor
  • Accept Litecoin (LTC) payments
  1. Becoming an Affiliate
  2. Lending Litecoin (LTC)
  3. Micro Litecoin (LTC) Earnings (Faucets, Offer Wall, Short Links, Surf Ads……)
  4. Litecoin (LTC) Games
  5. Micro Litecoin (LTC) Tasks
  6. Trade Litecoin (LTC)

How to Buy Litecoin (LTC)?

1. Things To Know Before You Buy Litecoin (LTC)

Buying Litecoin (LTC) and holding onto it in hopes it will appreciate in value, is the most common form of “investing”. As with all investing, you should never invest more than you are willing/able to lose. This is especially true with Litecoin (LTC), since it’s still a very risky investment.

The most important thing to keep in mind when buying Litecoin (LTC) is to make sure to buy only from exchanges that have proven their reputation.

Another key tip is to make sure you don’t buy all of your Litecoin (LTC)s in one trade. Instead use a dollar cost averaging method—buy a fixed amount every month, week or even day throughout the year. This ensures that you buy the most Litecoin (LTC) when it’s on the rise, and less when it’s going down in price.

2. How to Buy Litecoin (LTC) on a Crypto Exchange

  • Coinbase – Secure online platform for buying, selling, transferring, and storing cryptocurrency.
  • eToro – Trade and invest in a diversified portfolio, starting at $10, or practise risk-free with a virtual portfolio.
  • Bitfinex – Digital asset trading platform offering state-of-the-art services for digital currency traders and global liquidity providers.
  • Binance – Low trading fees, a generously wide range of leverage, and high liquidity.
  • KuCoin – A large cryptocurrency exchange offering the ability to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies

3. How to Buy Litecoin (LTC) with Cash

  • Find a seller in your area who accepts cash.
  • Select amount of coins and place an order.
  • Receive account number from the seller.
  • Deposit cash into the seller’s account.
  • Upload your receipt to prove you made the deposit/trade.
  • Receive Litecoin (LTC)!

4. How to Buy Litecoin (LTC) with Credit Card

Not all platforms will allow you to use a credit card to make your Litecoin (LTC) purchases. If you do choose a platform allowing such transactions, keep in mind that there may be extra fees associated with the purchase. Many credit card companies process cryptocurrency purchases via credit card as cash advances, which can incur high interest rates, among other fees.

5. How to Buy Litecoin (LTC) with Paypal

  • Login to Paypal and Select Cryptocurrency
  • Select ‘Litecoin (LTC)’
  • Select ‘Buy’
  • Choose How Much You Want to Buy
  • Select Payment Method
  • Hit the ‘Buy’ button

6. Should I Buy Litecoin (LTC) In 2022?

In a short-term litecoin crypto price prediction, CoinCodex saw the price falling by 1.4% to $ 68.05 by 30 May. Technical indicators showed the current sentiment for litecoin as ‘bearish’, while the fear and greed index indicated ‘extreme fear’ among litecoin investors.

The litecoin prediction from Wallet Investor expected LTC to rise to an average price of $103.638 by the end of 2022, $141.563 by the end of 2023 and close ​​2025 at $203.405. Its five-year litecoin projections suggested the cryptocurrency could trade at an average price of $238.605 by May 2027.

According to Price Prediction’s litecoin crypto price prediction, the token could hit an average price of $83.05 in 2022, growing to $257.23 by 2025 and rising further to $1,617.92 by 2030.

DigitalCoin’s LTC prediction expected the token price cold trade at an average of $89.99 in 2022. DigitalCoin suggested litecoin value could hit a maximum price of $143.76 by 2025 and $326.44 by 2030.

When looking at ltc price predictions, investors should remember that the market is volatile. The outlook and forecasts are based on inferences drawn from past performance by analysts. They can be wrong. Prices can change due to market gyrations, change in policies and unknown parameters. Investors should consider the token’s collaborations, partnership deals and fundamentals..

You should do research and base your decision to buy cryptocurrencies on your attitude to risk. Investors should gauge how comfortable they are about losing money. You should never invest money that you cannot afford to lose.

How to Sell Litecoin (LTC)?

1. Things to Know Before You Sell Litecoin (LTC)

To get started with Litecoin (LTC), you’re going to need three things: an exchange, a wallet and the knowledge of how to buy the cryptocurrency. This last one is easy with our guide on how to buy Litecoin (LTC), but the other two are still important. The exchange allows you to buy Litecoin (LTC) from sellers, and the wallet gives you somewhere to store it long term. 

When choosing an exchange, you should look for one with many users, good customer support and low fees. Three particularly popular exchanges with newcomers are Coinbase, Robinhood and Binance. However, there’s nothing really tying you to a specific exchange, so you can try new ones and quickly change at any time.

On the other hand, wallets can be much more complex. “Cold wallets” — physical devices holding cryptocurrencies offline — come with a steep up-front cost, but “hot wallets” — pieces of software that hold your coins on a computer — are often less secure. However, since hot wallets are fine for short-term storage and free to set up, it’s a good idea to start with them.

2. Sell Litecoin (LTC) in Cryptocurrency Exchanges

  • Step 1: Set up an exchange account
  • Step 2: Transfer your Litecoin (LTC) to your exchange wallet
  • Step 3: Place a sell order

3. Sell Litecoin (LTC) in P2P Trading

  • Step 1: Go to the P2P Trading Page
  • Step 2: Choose to Sell and Set Your Currencies
  • Step 3: Find a Buyer
  • Step 4: Choose How Much You Want to Sell
  • Step 5: Send the Offer
  • Step 6: Confirm the Release

4. Sell Litecoin (LTC) in Litecoin (LTC) ATMs

  • Step 1: Choose withdraw cash
  • Step 2: Choose Litecoin (LTC) (these machines normally may support other cryptocurrencies)
  • Step 3: Choose amount to withdraw
  • Step 4: Send Litecoin (LTC) to given address QR code
  • Step 5: Receive cash immediately as Litecoin (LTC) transaction is propagated on the network

What Is Litecoin (LTC) Mining?

Litecoin (LTC) mining is the process of creating new Litecoin (LTC) by solving extremely complicated math problems that verify transactions in the currency. When a Litecoin (LTC) is successfully mined, the miner receives a predetermined amount of Litecoin (LTC).

1. How Does Litecoin (LTC) Mining Work?

Cryptocurrency mining is the process of doing a mathematical operation called hashing over and over until a correct hash value is found. 

A hash is like the ID number for a set of data. Even a tiny change in the data produces a completely different hash. This is one of the keys to crypto mining. The other key is this – finding a hash is difficult, but checking whether a hash is correct is easy. These facts form the basis of a system called proof-of-work.

Proof-of-work is a way to get lots of independent computers to agree that something is true. In crypto, the computers must agree on the money in every account and the transfers between accounts. 

2. How to Mine Litecoin (LTC)?

Contributing to the mining of Litecoin equals providing processing power, also known as hashpower, to the Litecoin network. Because Litecoin represents an open, permissionless system like Bitcoin, anyone with access to computer processing power can participate in mining. In the early days of Litecoin it was very well possible to mine the cryptocurrency using home gear computer hardware like classical CPU or GPU (both of these are computer processing units). With ever more hash power being provided by more as well as more professional actors, mining has become increasingly difficult. Today, Litecoin cannot be mined efficiently with CPU or GPU graphic cards anymore.

In order to competitively mine Litcoin, so-called application-specific integrated (ASIC) mining machines are needed, such as Bitmain Antminer L7. These ASIC mining processors have been uniquely designed to mine Litecoin. While Bitcoin also uses ASIC miners, these machines are predicated on a different algorithm. For Bitcoin, the mining algorithm used is SHA-256. In contrast, Litecoin uses a fundamentally different algorithm called “Scrypt” to process hash functions. So while ASIC miners used to mine Litecoin cannot be switched to mining Bitcoin, they can easily be changed to mine other coins, most notably Dogecoin, which also adheres to a scrypt-based algorithm.

Just like the Bitcoin mining industry, Litecoin mining today is also dominated by mining pools. If someone is in possession of only a handful of scrypt-based ASIC machines, it is best to plug these mining machines into so-called mining farms. This way, a smaller miner can team up with a lot of hash power, making it more probable that he will get a steady flow of block rewards out of his minings machines. Whenever the respective mining farm finds a new block, the smaller miner gets a share of the rewards proportional to the hashing power he has contributed. As this illustration shows, currently three mining pools share more than 50 percent of the hashing rate. 

3. Hardware for Litecoin (LTC) Mining

Hardware is arguably the most important piece of the puzzle. Leaving all else unchanged, the more computing power you have, the more rewards you will get.

However, before purchasing or securing specialized hardware to start mining, it is critical to understand exactly what the hardware requirements are. 

In the case of Litecoin, the hashing algorithm used is Scrypt, rather than the more intensive SHA-256 used by Bitcoin. 

You can install Scrypt mining software on an ordinary computer and begin mining. However, with such a low-powered device, the chances of getting a successful block are very low. You can increase your hash rate by installing a GPU (graphics processing unit).

Another possibility is to create a dedicated Litecoin mining computer. Such a device is called an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). 

Bitmain Antminer L7 miner is the most profitable Litecoin ASIC miner in today’s market.

Other kinds of integrated circuits like CPUs and GPUs are designed to handle a wide variety of different tasks reasonably well. ASICs are designed to handle only the kind of calculations associated with mining very well.

How to Get Free Litecoin (LTC)?

Most genuine websites that allow you to earn free Litecoin (LTC) require you to spend money on other things like buying cloud computer mining power, connecting your CPU for mining, playing a game, or completing micro-tasks.

In other words, they offer free Litecoin (LTC)s as an advertisement for their services. Otherwise, it takes time and effort to get free Litecoin (LTC) given its current high value.

  • Litecoin (LTC) Faucet
  • Litecoin (LTC) PTC Sites
  • Litecoin (LTC) Airdrop
  • Litecoin (LTC) GameFi
  • Litecoin (LTC) Bounties
  • Learning About Litecoin (LTC)
  • Shopping Reward
  • Litecoin (LTC) Interest 
  • Owning a Litecoin (LTC) Faucet
  • Write about Litecoin (LTC)
  • Litecoin (LTC) Affiliate Program
  • Free Litecoin (LTC) Cloud Mining

What is a Litecoin (LTC) Wallet?

1. Litecoin (LTC) Wallets for Beginners

You need a Litecoin wallet to receive any block rewards you get from mining. There are many Litecoin compatible wallets. 

You should choose one with a good reputation, and strong security. Hardware wallets are the gold standard for crypto wallet security.

Litecoin wallets tie specific Litecoins to specific owners. Litecoin ownership is attributed using “Private Keys”, which are transferred with specific Litecoins anytime they are bought or sold. Litecoin wallets manage your Private Keys, so you can always use your Litecoin without every having to think about your Keys.

A Litecoin wallet will show you how much Litecoin you have, as well as your Litecoin transaction history. Your Litecoin wallet will show your Litecoin address, to which you can send more Litecoin. You can send Litecoin from your Litecoin wallet, and store Litecoin indefinitely within it as well.

Litecoin wallets are digital applications. Some of them are made for computers, others for phones, while still others are operated from websites. Wallets can also be built into hardware devices used exclusively for this purpose.

Bitcoin wallets can live on your phone or computer, for everyday use of your personal funds. They can also exist in specialized hardware devices, safely disconnected from the internet.

In general, Litecoin wallets that are not connected to the internet are the safest, because these can’t be hacked by internet fraudsters.

2. How To Make A Litecoin (LTC) Paper Wallet?

Although there are ways to manually generate a private key, the vast majority of paper wallet creators use a private key generator. Once a private and public key have been created, you are able to print a paper wallet, which because it’s not online doubles as a cold storage wallet. This will include the public and private key you’ve generated, usually as both a string of characters and QR codes. 

Anyone with a paper wallet’s public key can send crypto to it as often as they like. Using the corresponding private key, you can move the crypto balance of the paper wallet into a software wallet. This transfers the funds to a new private key on your software wallet. 

3. Ways To Set Up a Litecoin (LTC) Wallet

There are many Litecoin (LTC) wallets out there, and all of them differ in their characteristics. Mobile software wallets are great for day-to-day use, while desktop software wallets bring about a great balance between convenience and security. Lightweight web wallets are the best choice for quick online transactions. Cold encrypted hardware wallets like Ledger or Trezor are the best for long-term storage of bitcoin. However, unlike other options, hardware wallets aren’t free and cost $50 or more.

Set up a Litecoin (LTC) Software Wallet

  • Mycellium
  • Bread (BRD) wallet
  • Bitcoin wallet
  • Electrum
  • Samourai

Set up a Litecoin (LTC) Web Wallet

  • Coinbase
  • Blockchain.info
  • BTC.com
  • Rahakott
  • BitGo

Set up a Litecoin (LTC) Hardware Wallet

  • Ledger
  • Trezor
  • BitLox
  • KeepKey

How to Buy and Sell Litecoin (LTC) In Different Area?

1. How to Buy and Sell Litecoin (LTC) in India?

You can get Litecoin (LTC) in India mainly through buying and mining. To buy it, you can use several online exchanges such as WazirX, Coinbase, BuyUcoin, and CoinDCX. Choosing the best online exchange is another task, but here are a few things you should keep in mind while buying the cryptocurrency in India.

  • It’s best to go with an exchange that allows you to withdraw cryptocurrency in INR to your personal online wallet for safekeeping
  • Make sure that the internet connection is secure. Also, don’t forget to use safe internet practices like two-factor authentication and unique and strong passwords.
  • KYC aka Know Your Customer verification is a must, at least in India. For that, you can use a PAN card and valid address proof
  • Now, add the bank account that is linked to your PAN card. Verification will take around 2-3 days

After the verification is complete, you can start trading Litecoin (LTC) in India. Money from your bank accounts can be transferred using NEFT, RTGS, and debit and credit cards. Currently, the value of one Bitcoin is around 27 lakh; however, you don’t have to buy a whole coin to begin investing. You can buy Bitcoin in parts, i.e. small investments for as low as Rs 500. That way, you will own a small percentage of the cryptocurrency.

2. How to Buy and Sell Litecoin (LTC) in Canada?

  • Sign up and get KYC (Know-Your-Customer) verified on a Canadian crypto exchange like Bitbuy.
  • Deposit CAD to the exchange directly from your bank account.
  • Buy Litecoin (LTC).
  • Store Litecoin (LTC) on your exchange account or transfer it to a wallet.

3. How To Buy and Sell Litecoin (LTC) In The UK?

  • Create a Coinbase account.
  • Complete identity verification to access fiat payment options.
  • Navigate to the Accounts and select the GBP wallet.
  • Fund your account using Bank Transfer or other methods.
  • Once the deposit is complete, go to the Buy/Sell page and select GBP to Litecoin (LTC).

4. How To Buy Litecoin (LTC) in the United States?

The best way to buy and sell Litecoin (LTC) in the USA is through an exchange such as Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Coinmama, Binance, or Changelly. There is a plethora of options available, so it is best to look at each of the exchanges’ processes for deposits and withdrawals, fees, and transaction speeds to determine which is best for you.

Litecoin (LTC) FAQs

1. Litecoin (LTC) History

Litecoin’s epic rise to fame begins in October 2011 with the publishing of the project’s whitepaper by long time Bitcoinist, Charlie Lee. Notably, Lee was a former employee of Google who had followed Bitcoin since its early days. At the time, Lee recognized the value of Bitcoin but noticed that there were some areas that if improved, could help propel large scale blockchain adoption amongst the masses. Lee’s improvements focused on reduced transaction times, fees, and the elimination of concentrated mining pools.

Impressively, it only took Litecoin 2 years to achieve a $1 billion market capitalization. The coin continues to dominate the market today. Notably, Litecoin reached its official all-time high of $360.93 on December 18th, 2017. Incredibly, this value represented an 8200% increase over the tokens value just a year prior. At that time, Litecoin had a market value of just around $4.40.

In an interesting turn of events, Lee decided to sell all of his Litecoin holdings in December of 2017. At the time, Lee explained via a Reddit post why he made the decision. He stated that he had concerns over his growing influence on the platform. In his now-famous posts, Lee is quoted stating “Whenever I tweet about Litecoin price or even just good or bad news, I get accused of doing it for personal benefit. Some people even think I short LTC! So in a sense, it is a conflict of interest for me to hold LTC and tweet about it because I have so much influence.” In the end, he decided it was best to avoid the conflict of interest that comes with his position as LTC’s founder.

2. Litecoin (LTC) Security and Privacy

While many complain that crypto coin transactions are anonymous and could potentially fuel criminal activity, this is actually becoming far from the case. More countries are introducing “know-your-customer” and anti-money laundering regulations, requiring users to verify their identity and address to ensure services are not misused.

Confidential transactions, however, are important to Charlie Lee, who tweeted back in January 2019 that he wanted to make “litecoin more fungible by adding confidential transactions”.

Finally, after three years of development, testing and reviewing, the Litecoin Foundation announced at the end of January it had released the Mimblewimble Extension Block (MWEB) upgrade, offering optional confidentiality to users.

At the time, lead developer David Burkett said: “MWEB is a crucial next step in Litecoin’s evolution. The optional confidentiality MWEB provides gives the user notable and needed protections for small everyday items, to salaries, or even buying a home.”

3. Bitcoin and Litecoin differ in Several Areas

Litecoin uses a different mining algorithm than Bitcoin, which has led to Litecoin having much faster confirmation times for transactions. Where Bitcoin’s confirmation time for transactions is 10 minutes, Litecoin confirms transactions in 2.5 minutes. Litecoin generates blocks four times faster than Bitcoin, and is therefore able to process a higher volume of transactions.

Both Bitcoin and Litecoin use Proof of Work (PoW) as a mechanism for ecosystems. PoW is one of the most common algorithms in cryptocurrency. The most important difference between Litecoin and Bitcoin’s Proof of Work is the different cryptographic algorithms they use. Bitcoin uses the SHA-256 algorithm, while Litecoin uses a newer algorithm called Scrypt.

Bitcoin’s SHA-256 calculations can be accelerated to a large extent by parallel processing. Scrypt is more “memory intensive”, which means that it requires more memory to solve the problem. Scrypt thus favors large amounts of high-speed RAM instead of just raw processing power.

The goal of Litecoin is that absolutely everyone who owns a computer should be able to participate in the network and extract (my) litcoins with Scrypt, as the Litecoin algorithm is significantly easier to solve and requires less computing power than Bitcoin. Unfortunately, Litecoin mining is no longer profitable without special equipment. You can buy “mining” rigs that consist of specially built equipment for this specific task, but it requires a significant investment as this equipment is expensive.

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