What is Litecoin (LTC)? Today we will discuss information about LTC and answer this question. Digital currencies dominate the world economy, as people consistently pay their acquisition value using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
In the previous article, we discussed the top cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, their strengths and limitations. Today, we will know what Litecoin (LTC) is, its advantages, and its disadvantages.
An Overview
Litecoin currency is considered a circulated asset, which helps traders transfer financial transactions and request money through a publicly accessible network. Since it launched in 2011, Litecoin cryptocurrency became one of the most prominent digital assets users prefer to deal with.
The cryptocurrency enjoys a huge supply capitalization reaching 84 million coins. Bitcoin has only 21 million coins. In order to make Litecoin vulnerable and straightforward, the developers allow the users to exchange their currencies for two minutes and a half. Compared to Bitcoin, which requires a block time of up to 10 minutes, Litecoin is faster and more accurate.
What Is Litecoin (LTC), And Where Can You Buy It?
Like other decentralized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, Litecoin is not published by any government officials. Historically the only entity community trusts to give money. Rather than being dominated by a central bank and coming off the strain at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, LTCs are generated by an extensive cryptocurrency system called “mining.”
Litecoin is everywhere. So, you can quickly buy it online via various platforms, including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and CEX. Many experts recommend choosing the Coinbase or Binance websites, as they facilitate the purchasing process and accept all credit card types.
Regarding the cryptocurrency capacity, it is known that Litecoin has the buying power, which makes it a safe and secure coin. For example, if you have 10 Litecoins, then, in Russia, you can buy 93.221.35 rubles, while, in Egypt, you can get 211.770.47 pounds. As of today, 148.35 USD equals 1 LTC.
An Extraordinary Innovation
We know that all cryptocurrencies are digitally bought and sold. So, they are available online, not offline. However, Litecoin is an exception. Some years ago, a bunch of amateurs presented a Litecoin cryptocurrency token called 40mm Silver coin.
Litecoin Cryptocurrency token is an actual physical “analog.” You can provide an excellent gift for a numismatist or any person whose professional activity is related to digital currency. Litecoin token is suitable for programmers, collectors, cryptocurrency enthusiasts, or anyone just starting a career in cryptocurrency fields.
Notably, such tokens are made of high-quality materials and placed in a transparent plastic capsule that protects the coins’ damage.
Risk-Informed Procedures & Administrative Decisions
To answer the following question of “what is Litecoin (LTC)” more accurately, let’s dive deeper seeking more information about Litecoin.
In an interview conducted by Rambler web portal, Litcoin founder; Charlie Lee said: “For the first time in more than six years, I do not have a single Litecoin in my hands, with the exception of collectible copies.” According to Lee, he decided to implement Litecoin in order to avoid conflicts of interest.
He said, “As soon as I write something about the Litecoin price or just publish good or bad news, I am accused of market manipulation. Some investors think that I am playing against Litecoin. Therefore, in the sense of responsibility, I will stop writing on social media platforms, particularly Facebook and Twitter”. He also insists that he always refrained from buying or selling his coin before or after he posted important tweets, but only he knew about it.
Despite that, there are lingering doubts about whether his actions are directed at personal enrichment, which enhances the success of Litecoin and cryptocurrencies in general.
Courageous Statements From Charlie Lee
In fact, the founder was bold enough to say that “Litecoin has helped me financially, and now I am adequately rich. So, I will not associate my own financial well-being with my coin success.” However, he promises to continue working on the project.
Nonetheless, Lee did not mention the exact amount of coins sold. He only emphasized that it equals a small percentage of the daily trading volume on the GDAX exchange (about half a billion dollars).
Also, Lee reaffirmed that the Litecoin price decreased after his announcement because the traders think he has “lost hope” and felt desperate to keep his currency at a proper level of competition, significantly as most cryptocurrencies have increased their capacity and achieved considerable profits in the first quarter of the year.
Note that at the time of publication, 1 Litecoin costs about $148.35. This is an apparent collapse since the coin reached $412.96 in May 2021. In December 2020, Litecoin began supporting the Bloomberg Terminal system and the Revolut mobile banking service. And a little earlier, the second-largest exchange in South Korea opened trading in Litecoin tokens.
Mining Litecoin (LTC)
Unlike traditional money, the amount of LTCs is fixed. There will never be higher than 84 million LTCs in circulation. The LTC network creates a new block of records entry of recent LTC transactions worldwide every 2.5 minutes.
Also, the block is established by mining software and made apparent to any system member (a miner) required to see it. Once a miner confirms it, the next block begins the chain, recording every LTC trade made.
Nonetheless, there are rewards for mining LTC. The first miner to validate a block is compensated with 12.5 Litecoins successfully. And the number of LTCs granted for such a task decreases with time. For example, it was halved In August 2019, and the halving will remain at fixed intervals until the 84 million LTCs are mined.
Mining cryptocurrency at a pace beneficial to the miners needs significant processing power, courtesy of specific hardware. The CPU and GPU in most individual computers aren’t sufficient to mine cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, Litecoin can be distinguished from most cryptocurrencies because it can be mined with personal PCs at home. Although the better a computer’s potential for mining, the greater the likelihood it will earn something of value for a miner.
Crucial Remarks
Before asking the question, what is Litecoin (LTC)? We should know some crucial key points. At first, when reviewing the market capitalization, we can easily observe that Litecoin is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, along with Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and, of course, Bitcoin, etc.
To make things more serious, the Ministry of Finance in Japan, where cryptocurrencies are officially recognized, expressed concern about the current distressing situation that Bitcoin has come to. The Minister of Finance, Taro Aso, stated that Bitcoin could not be considered a “reliable” currency.
A couple of months ago, the co-founder of Bitcoin.com, Emil Oldenburg, clarified that Bitcoin had no prospects and got rid of all his Bitcoins assets. He also declared that investors would start leaving Bitcoin as soon as they understand how its system poorly works.
Even though Oldenburg’s company is a Bitcoin wallet, the high transaction fees and slow confirmation times will make the board of directors retreat at an accelerated rate, as most investors will refuse to buy a currency with weak performance.
In accordance with expectations of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, many traders will switch to Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin, as they have a faster crypto transaction speed and lower costs as well. That will make the Litecoin network flourish, paving the way for a high-value alternative to replacing the oldest cryptocurrency in human history.
Additionally, you must understand that any currency is only as worthy as society thinks it is, even the U.S. dollar or gold bullion. If the Federal Reserve began circulating excessively numerous banknotes, the dollar’s value would fall in short order. This event transforms currency.
Any product or service becomes less worthy the more quickly and cheaply you can get. The inventors of Litecoin knew from the beginning that it would be challenging for a new coin to acquire a good reputation in the marketplace in a short period. Yet by limiting the amount of LTCs in circulation, the creators could at least moderate people’s overproduction concerns.
Bitcoin (BTC) Vs. Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin has continuously been viewed as a response to Bitcoin. The most crucial difference between Bitcoin and Litecoin is the different cryptographic algorithms that they apply. Bitcoin uses the SHA-256 algorithm, whereas Litecoin performs the use of a more innovative algorithm called scrypt.
Moreover, Litecoin has some built-in utilities when correlated to Bitcoin. LTC was established to prioritize transaction speed which is roughly 2.5 minutes, and that is a vital basis for its reputation. However, the bitcoin network’s medium transaction verification rate is currently slightly under 9 minutes/transaction, meaning that Litecoin’s network can manage more transactions in a shorter interval because of its shorter block creation time.
However, without a doubt, Bitcoin still, to this moment, has a more outstanding market capitalization than other cryptocurrencies. As of August 01, 2021, the total worth of all Bitcoins in circulation is around $780 billion. Ethereum market capitalization is $302 billion, which comes after Bitcoin, while Litecoin’s market capitalization is approximately $9 billion. As you noticed the Bitcoin’s market capitalization yet dominates every single cryptocurrency.
Nevertheless, when you compare both Bitcoin and Litecoin, the most important key point is that both of them have fixed supplies. However, Bitcoin’s supply is restricted to only 21 million coins, But Litecoin’s total fixed supply is 84 million coins.
The Bottom Line
Whether you decide to invest in Litecoin today or not, you must put Litecoin on your list as a cryptocurrency investor. Litecoin is one of the cryptocurrencies with outstanding goals, such as making transactions without using an agent like a payment processing service, bank, or credit card company.
Furthermore, once a cryptocurrency approaches a critical portion of users convinced that it is undoubtedly what it symbolizes and reasonably won’t lose its worth, it can maintain itself as a payment method. Litecoin, the same as other cryptocurrencies, isn’t anywhere near globally accepted. But as cryptocurrencies grow more readily trusted and their rates stabilize, one or more of them, probably including Litecoin, will rise as the standard payment method of the digital area.
Investing in stocks, cryptocurrencies, and other Initial Coin Offerings (“ICOs”) is highly risky and speculative. This article is not a recommendation by iCryptoApe or the writer to invest in stocks, cryptocurrencies, or other ICOs. Because each person or individual’s circumstances are unique, therefore, a qualified professional and/or a financial advisor should always be consulted before making any financial decisions and/or trading or buying stocks, cryptocurrencies, or other ICOs. iCryptoApe makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information included within.
