What is Litecoin
Litecoin is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that has gained quite a wide distribution since its inception in 2011.
As a form of digital money that uses a blockchain to maintain a public ledger of all transactions, Litecoin is used to transfer funds directly between individuals or businesses without the need for an intermediary such as a bank or payment processing service.
How is Litecoin Created?
Like all cryptocurrencies, Litecoin is not issued by a government, which historically has been the only entity the public trusts to issue money. Instead, cryptocurrency is created through a more complicated procedure called mining. Unlike traditional currencies, the supply of Litecoin is fixed. Eventually, there will only be 84 million LTC coins in circulation. Every 2.5 minutes (as opposed to the 10 minutes for bitcoin), the Litecoin network generates a block. And that’s where its inherent value comes from.
One of the main goals of Litecoin was to reduce the block confirmation time from 10 minutes to 2.5 minutes so that more transactions could be confirmed. This made this network 4 times faster than Bitcoin. Every 2.5 minutes a block is mined and 25 coins are generated. This means that currently 14,400 LTC are mined every day.
What is Litecoin Worth?
Any currency – even the US dollar or gold bullion – is only as valuable as society thinks it is. If the Federal Reserve starts issuing too many notes, the value of the dollar will drop in negative time. Any good or service becomes less valuable when it becomes easy and cheap to obtain. The creators of Litecoin understood this from the beginning. By limiting the number of LTC in circulation, the founders could eliminate people’s fears of overproduction.
There are advantages inherent in Litecoin over Bitcoin. LTC can handle more transactions given the shorter block generation time. Litecoin also has a barely noticeable transaction fee. It costs 1/1000 of LTC to process a transaction, regardless of size. Compare that to PayPal’s 3% fee.
Litecoin Creator
LTC was created by Charlie Lee in October 2011. Lee is a former Google and Coinbase employee whose idea was to complement Bitcoin by solving some of its problems, such as transaction times, fees, and more. Charlie Lee took the underlying code from Bitcoin and made his changes to make the protocol work in a way that he thought would best allow for large-scale adoption of the currency. In other words, his idea was to make a „lighter“ version of Bitcoin.
Litecoin Mining
Bitcoin uses SHA-256 (Secure Hash Algorithm), which is considered relatively more complex. Litecoin uses a memory-intensive algorithm called a script.
Different persistence algorithms mean different hardware, and you need to make sure that your mining platform meets the correct specifications to produce Litecoin.
Litecoin’s Future
LTC is often compared to bitcoin, which functions in much the same way, excluding transaction costs, which are about 1/50th the size. For many cryptocurrency traders and users, the prices of Litecoin act more rationally than Bitcoin and portend a more sustainable future.
Litecoin trading
The rise in popularity of LTC and other cryptocurrencies is largely in response to the demand for alternative currency options that have nothing to do with centralized banks and governments.
The other side of the demand is from traders and investors who have realized the enormous potential that cryptocurrencies have to offer.
How to Buy Litecoin?
1. Choose a crypto exchange
There are numerous cryptocurrency exchanges and exchanges that range from easy-to-use systems to complex dashboards for advanced traders.
Because Litecoin is so popular, you will be able to purchase the token on most cryptocurrency exchanges, but it is advisable to stick to a few of the more popular exchanges such as Binance, Kraken, Coinbase, etc. Different platforms come with different fees, security measures, and may include other features, so it’s a good idea to do your research before signing up.
2. Create an account and confirm it
Start with account registration, which is completely free on the aforementioned platforms. For added security, 2FA – two-factor authentication – is also enabled. This way, you and your device are the only ones who can grant access to the account.
You are then taken through a KYC process, which is providing personal information – ID card/passport/driving license details, proof of address (e.g. bank statement or utility bill).
After completing these steps, you are ready to buy, sell and trade Litecoin (LTC), as well as take advantage of various services such as steaming.
3. Fund your account
Once your account has been registered and verified, you need to fund the account so you can start taking advantage of the platform’s buying and trading services.
The main deposit options are:
- Credit/Debit Card
- Bank deposit
- Peer-to-peer (P2P)
How to Buy Litecoin?
