Litecoin: Where did it come from?
Charlie Lee in 2011 developed the blockchain-based decentralized cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin and is commonly referred to as a fork of Bitcoin. Fork here refers to the state in which a specific blockchain splits into two paths, mainly when the blockchain community plans to introduce a new method to give different functionality or choose to move away from the protocol. There are essentially two types of forks that can be implemented on a blockchain- hard fork and soft fork. In a hard fork, the nodes need to upgrade to a new protocol implemented to stay valid, though, in software, up-gradation is a good thing, not mandatory to remain valid. Litecoin can process a blockchain after every 2.5 minutes, a relatively less time than 9 minutes if Bitcoin. Also, Litecoin provides more robust protection from hacks as its algorithm is tricky to solve. Also, it is harder to mine though relatively easy to spend.
Litecoin can be mined up to 84,000,000 LTC. Litecoin uses the Proof of Work algorithm along with a Scrypt hash from Tenebrix. The LTC awards half every four years, and 25 LTCs were being rewarded to the miners up until 2019. LTC can be stored in its core wallet and third-party wallets that support LTC like- Trezor, Jaxx, LoafWallet, and Exodus. LTC is actively accepted in the cryptocurrency markets and OKEx, DOBI trade, BitForex, Coinbase, Binance, Huobi, HitBTC, Bitfinex, and many more. It is mainly paired with BTC though one can trade it for ETH, USDT, and fiat money like USD. Coinswitch allows a user to convert LTC to BTC at the best possible rates.
As for Litecoin Forecast, its future seems promising with integrations, active community, and partnerships and is expected to reach $600. Being the seventh most valuable cryptocurrency, with low transaction costs, and fast confirmation time, it is anticipated to become a global payment system by 2023. Its transaction process fees are much lesser than credit cards and other payment methods and are foreseen to reach the mark of nine hundred dollars.
Litecoin’s block rewards would be halved in 2023 and reach 6.25 LTC, and its value would surge and be the most traded coin bearing the dollar mark of twelve hundred by 2025. It will reach its fourth halving process by 2030 and double and reach the fifteen hundred dollar mark. Get more latest Litecoin news updates here.
Pros
- Litecoin is Open-source: Litecoin is an open-source system, and changes can be made quickly to its protocol. Changes need to be made in response to the cryptocurrency market and its changing needs.
- Litecoin offers flexibility to add tech innovations like Lightning Network protocol and SegWit to make convenient, faster transactions.
- Litecoin is decentralized: It works on a p2p Peer Peer network and an excellent alternative to fiat currency.
- The blockchain nodes are spread all over the globe and hack-free.
- The transactions cost minimal, almost negligible amounts.
- Speed: Litecoin completes a transaction in 2.5 minutes
- Litecoin is scalable: Litecoin can process as many as Fifty-six transactions simultaneously than seven by Bitcoin and eleven by Ethereum.
- Litecoin is progressively upgrading its functions with recent additions of SegWit and the Lightning Network protocol to make faster transactions.
- Litecoin offers the upper limit of the number of coins it will mint – 84 million coins.
- The mining process is straightforward, using Scrypt as its proof-of-work algorithm- a more accessible and energy-efficient method.
- The developer team is reliable and created by former Google employee Charlie Lee, who is engaged in building LTC.
- Trade – Friendly: Litecoin is easy to trade, and most of the exchanges support Litecoin, and platforms like eToro offer LTC purchase while trading 90 pairs of CFDs cryptocurrencies. All wallets support LTC and LTC/BTC swaps.
Cons
- Branding Problems: Litecoin is pictured like Bitcoin, whereas it is faster and wiser. Even though it transformed Bitcoin, its uniqueness has not been acknowledged. Bitcoin has now adopted the SegWit protocol that has hurt Litecoin’s uniqueness.
- Lost Credibility: Charlie Lee sold his LTC holdings in 2017 at the high of Litecoin; Litpay service was redeemed defunct and was withdrawn, creating a negative impact in the market.
- Dark Web: Litecoin is used avidly by 30% of underground vendors which adversely affects Litecoin’s image.
Conclusion
Litecoin, a soft fork of Bitcoin, is more advanced in technology, speed, transaction fees. Litecoin can process a blockchain after every 2.5 minutes, which is much faster than 9 minutes of BTC. It is highly reliable with Scrypt as its proof-of-work. Litecoin is progressively upgrading its functions with the recent addition of SegWit and the Lightning Network protocol for faster transactions. Litecoin’s p2p Peer to Peer network makes it a favorable alternative to fiat currency. It can be traded with 90 pairs of CFDs cryptocurrencies on eToro, and every wallet supports LTC. Litecoin Forecast seems hopeful and its value is expected to grow to fifteen hundred dollars by 2030.