Litecoin was the second cryptocurrency to be created, right after Bitcoin. It was created in 2011 by Charlie Lee and was one of the first cryptocurrencies to be inspired by Bitcoin. It too used C++ for scripting and a Proof-of-Work blockchain. However, instead of SHA-256d, Litecoin used Scrypt for the hash algorithm. It too used miners who verified transactions before it was added to the blockchain.
However, Litecoin was not a copy of Bitcoin; on the contrary, it proved to be better in many ways. Litecoin transactions are considerably faster than Bitcoin. While Bitcoin transactions take 10-60 minutes, Litecoin can finish a transaction as fast as less than 2.5 minutes. For the miners, Litecoin was a better choice than Bitcoin due to its simpler algorithm. It made mining much easier and faster without needing heavy resources for the same. Miners are often neglected in the whole cryptocurrency system, but more miners easily mean better security and faster transactions – both of which are desirable for a cryptocurrency.
For investors, Litecoin could be a great choice for many reasons. First, it has a total possible supply of 84 million coins, which is much higher than the likes of Bitcoin. Litecoin also has only 63 million coins in circulation, so there are about 20 million more coins still to enter the market. A larger lifetime supply leaves space for future increases in price as the supply dwindles. Litecoin also charges a considerably lower fee of $0.35 per transaction, which makes it a desirable option of regular financial operations. Right now, Litecoin is among the top 10 cryptocurrencies, frequently touching the top 5 range. It has a market cap of $2.5 million. Though it just accounts for 1.3 percent of the total market cap, Litecoin is still one of the most popular cryptocurrencies used by investors.
We have put together the ultimate beginner’s guide for understanding and investing in cryptocurrency!
