What is Litecoin cryptocurrency? What is Litecoin used for? Why is it so special? What is better – Litecoin or Bitcoin? It’s hard to live in a modern world and never hear those questions at least once. Some governments are strictly against using cryptocurrency in their lands, some are for it, and some are hesitant as this relatively new system is just developing and hasn’t reached its full potential yet.
Some people are making a significant amount of money on cryptocurrencies. Some are losing all they have and find themselves with huge debts. Is there any kind of golden middle? What is Litecoin cryptocurrency’s effect on our financial system now, and what we shall wait for in the nearest future? These questions are not easy ones to answer at one time, but let’s speak in some simple words so that anyone can understand.
How Does Litecoin Work?
The answer to “What is Litecoin?” is not so hard to understand. All the peculiarities and the core of processes happening within the system are not so easy to get at first reading. The definition of Litecoin is connected with blockchain technology. It is a shared digital ledger, where you can find Litecoin transactions. Simply speaking, Litecoin is a special currency for internet-based finance operations, which are secured and safe. They are thought to be untraceable.
You can generate this cryptocurrency with the help of mining. To do so, you need to have special mining tools and at least some technical knowledge and experience. Cryptocurrency today is not a topic for limited groups of specialists. Anyone can become one if they have enough motivation, time, and put effort to learn.
What is Litecoin’s place of birth? The Litecoin Network generates a block and makes it available for miners. Miners have to find this block and verify it by solving some tasks. After that, this block is a part of the worldwide chain.
History of Litecoin
Naturally, Litecoin has its ups and downs, but ups mostly. It started as a faint shadow of Bitcoin, but it reached a market worth of $1b in 2013. Currently, it occupies seventh place in the list of the world’s biggest cryptocurrencies. What is LTC cryptocurrency future? We can only guess. But with such a strong team behind the project, it is likely to grow and become something much more popular than it is now.
Who Invented Litecoin?
A Google employee thought that it would be nice to create something as an alternative for Bitcoin - something more efficient and cheaper. He has a great background of both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (the same place that gave us more than forty Nobel Prize winners, chairpersons, governors, and ministers). His name is Charlie Lee, and now he is the Engineering Director at Coinbase and managing director at the Litecoin Foundation.
Lee’s family has another genius and a person who works with cryptocurrency. Bobby C. Lee, Charlie’s brother, has founded BTC China, which is a cryptocurrency exchange platform.
When Was Litecoin Created?
Litecoin was seen for the first time on GitHub on the 7th of October 2011. A week later, the world came to know the Litecoin network system. Another important piece of information about Litecoin was at the end of 2013 when it experienced 100% growth within just one day.
Three years ago, in 2017, Segregated Witness claimed that Litecoin was one of the five most successful cryptocurrencies. A little bit later, it took first place among those five.
What Are the Differences Between LTC and BTC?
Though the basic structure of these two systems is the same, they have lots of differences. Here are the main ones.
- The major difference is in the algorithms. Bitcoin uses the SHA-256 algorithm, while Litecoin has Scrypt.
- Another distinctive trait is how fast all transactions can be processed. Litecoin is generally much faster.
- The amount of total coins is dramatically different. Bitcoin can have only 21 million, while Litecoin’s limit is four times bigger – 84 million.
- Rewards for the miners. When a block is empty, a miner gets about 25 BTC and 50 LTC. Furthermore, it takes longer to mine Bitcoin.
- You may require separate wallets for Litecoin and Bitcoin, although some providers support both currencies.
What Is the Price of Litecoin?
What is Litecoin worth now? LTC’s price is volatile. For instance, on 20.12.2017 LTC was worth $369.05, $87.60 on 19.02.2020, and $172.54 on 09.01.2021. Thus, it is vital to read reliable analytics and price predictions before buying or selling this cryptocurrency.
What Can You Buy with Litecoin?
What is Litecoin used for? To be honest, you can buy almost everything that you can buy for cash – food, clothes, kitchen supplies, plane tickets, and even a flat. The thing is, you have to know where to go to do so. Your small 24/7 supermarket at the corner won’t accept Litecoin. At least, not now. Here is the list of places you can visit to get something out of your Litecoin treasure chest. Before buying something, make sure you know the answer to “What is Litecoin’s worth now?”
- RE/MAX London real estate agency
- CryptoPet – a place with pet toys, accessories, and different nice things for your pet. Worldwide shipping is available here.
- Tealet is a nice place for those who are fond of tea and keen on everything connected with tea ceremonies - or for friends of those people who are desperately looking for a present for them.
- San Marco Coffee – it is the same as Tealet, just for coffee addicts.
- BTC Trip and CheapAir are places where you can purchase a plane ticket.
If you are wondering what can you buy with Litecoin, these are just a few examples. The range of places is constantly growing. Keep your eye on the ball in order not to miss anything new. What is the LTC currency limit? Only time will tell.
So, what can we say at the end? To sum up, the topic of cryptocurrency is not a simple one. But this is the future, and we have to be ready for it. It is better to start investing in it now in order not to regret a missed chance later.
We wish you good luck, tons of inspiration and wisdom, and experienced miners to help you out in this difficult but exciting endeavour.
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