What is Litecoin, and how is it different from Bitcoin?

Introduction

Do you know what this Litecoin is? Why is this CryptoCurrency in the headlines today? If you already know about Bitcoin, then perhaps you can guess that the Virtual Currency we are talking about today is also called the younger brother of Bitcoin. Yes friends, since its origin in 2011, this peer-to-peer cryptocurrency has achieved its position very easily.

This is a type of Digital Money that uses BlockChain to complete its transaction so that it can be easily maintained in the public ledger. Litecoin is used to transfer funds between individuals and businesses, and to do so by any intermediary such as banks and payment processing services. Litecoin has gained a lot of fame due to having such features.

That's why today I thought that why shouldn't you guys also be given complete information about what Litecoin is so that you also already know about it, which will make it easier for you to understand about it and buy it. Then without delay, let us know what is this Litecoin and how is it different from Bitcoin.

What is Litecoin

If any Cryptocurrency is making a splash in the market after Bitcoin and XRP, then it is Litecoin. It has emerged as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency in the world. Litecoin also works like other online payment systems. Just like we send money to any other user in PayPal or any online banking, in the same way, we can easily send money to another person in Litecoin too.

Just like our traditional currency is made by a Federal Reserve or a government, in contrast, Litecoin is not made by any government or any such institution, but it is mined by calculating its Transaction Block. This is also a type of Decentralized currency.

So let's know about Litecoin in detail.

What Makes Litecoin Different?

Since something must be different, which makes Litecoin different from others. Today I am going to tell you some unheard things about this and heard something about it.

There are mainly three things that separate Litecoin from others, especially from Bitcoin:

• Speed

• Number of Coins

• Market Cap

• Speed

Litecoin is also based on the same open-source code that lies behind Bitcoin. But with many differences. Litecoin is also called the silver of Cryptocurrency. Where bitcoin is called gold. The main difference between these two is in their transaction speed.

Block formation in Litecoin is four times faster than in Bitcoin. Due to these Transactions can be easily verified, and many more processes can be processed in the same time interval.

Number of Coins

If we talk about Cryptocurrency, then their value is so high because there is a limit to their supply, after which they will end. These coins can be mined only once.

Where this limit is 21 million for Bitcoin, it is close to 84 million for Litecoin. With this, you can guess that Litecoin is far ahead of Bitcoin in the number of Coins.

Market Cap

If we compare the market cap, then Litecoin looks firm compared to Bitcoin, but still, it comes in Number 5 in Top Cryptocurrency. The fluctuation of their ranking also depends on their price and how many coins are in circulation.

How is it different from Bitcoin:

In response to this, I am going to present some such facts about it so that you can get a better idea about the difference between these two.

Litecoin vs Bitcoin	Litecoin	Bitcoin
Founder	Charlie Lee	Satoshi Nakamoto
Release Date	07 OCT 2011	09 JAN 2008
Release Method	Genesis Block Mined	Genesis Block Mined
BC peer-to-peer Protocol	Proof Of Work	Proof Of Work
Usage	Digital Money (Silver)	Digital Money (Gold)
Privacy	Yes	Yes
Trackable	Yes	Yes
Cryptocurrency Used	Litoshi	Satoshi
Cryptocurrency Symbol	LTC	BTC
Transaction Fee	0.001 LTC Average	BlockChain पर load के हिसाब से
Algorithm	Scrypt	SHA- 256
Block Time	2.5 Mins	At least 10 Mins
Mining	GPU Script-ASIC Miners	ASIC Miners
Segwit Scaled	Yes	Yes

Mining Litecoin

The Hashing Algorithm used for mining Litecoin differs greatly from Bitcoin and how many coins will be distributed with it when a solution comes out, It is also different. When a transaction is created, it is grouped with others that have been submitted recently in cryptographically protected blocks.

Computers which are also called Miners use GPU and CPU to solve these complex mathematical problems. Once all the transactions are completed, then they are verified.

When a block is solved, then all the miners get their share of money who had invested their time in this mining.

Like I have said before that both Litecoin and bitcoin use contrasting algorithms while hashing. Where bitcoin uses SHA-256 (short for Secure Hash Algorithm 2) which is also called quite complex, Litecoin uses a memory-intensive algorithm also called scrypt.

Using different algorithms means using different hardware, so the miners who mine Bitcoin will have to change the hardware if they want to mine Litecoin.

How To Use Litecoin Cryptocurrency?

Litecoin is a cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin, but it follows a completely different protocol. If we look at the official website of Litecoin, then it is written in it that Litecoin has peer to peer internet currency in which instantly you can send payment to anyone and that too in very fewer Fees.

Litecoin is completely open-source, decentralized crypto money, which works based on cryptographic math.

Litecoin is not designed to compete with Bitcoin, but it is a complementary solution that can also be used as an alternative. That's why it is also called the silver of Cryptocurrency.

Where, when, and who started Litecoin?

Litecoin was created on 7 October 2011 by Charlie Lee, he is an ex-Google employee. Litecoin was built as a complement to Bitcoin to solve problems such as concentrated mining pools and transaction timings.

Litecoin's code is taken from Bitcoin's core code, which has been modified later by Charles Lee. The reason for this change, Charles Lee, explains that since he wanted to adopt this currency on a large scale, he modified its protocol according to his own.

Lee wanted the block confirmation timings to be reduced to a great extent so that the maximum amount of transactions could be confirmed. That's why Lee has increased the transaction speed of Litecoin up to 4 times that of bitcoin.

Team Behind Litecoin

When Charlie Lee launched Litecoin on GitHub, he was the only employee of it. There were no full-time developers in Litecoin till 2011-2016. Later Warren Togami (Lead Developer) who is now in the lead contributed. And in 2016 itself, a developer whose alias is "Shaolibfry" came later and contributed to Litecoin.

In the same way, many other developers have contributed to Litecoin and are gradually improving it.

Total how many Litecoins are there going to be?

Litecoin was the first company that had a limited supply of bitcoin and told people for the first time about 21 million bitcoins. That's why they have increased their supply by 4X.

So the total volume of Litecoin will be 84 million units. As of now, 53 million have been mined and 31 million units are still left to be mined. A Litecoin block is mined every 2.5 minutes.

How much is Litecoin worth now?

If I talk about today, As of Now 2021, 1 LTC (one Litecoin) is worth around $215, making it the 14th-largest crypto with a market capitalization of just under $15 billion and its value keeps on increasing and decreasing continuously. Yet, Litecoin is ranked very good position in the world's top cryptocurrency.

How to buy Litecoin?

If you want to buy Litecoin, then you can buy it from exchanges for Bitcoin, but for this, you need to have Bitcoin. There are many exchanges where you can give your bitcoin and buy the desired cryptocurrency for it.

Litecoin Wallets

Like Bitcoin, Litecoin also has Wallets where you can store your purchased Litecoin. They are also called Digital Wallet.

These wallets are mainly of two types:

1. Software Based Wallet

2. Hardware-Based Wallet

If seen, Hardware-Based Wallets are more secure than Software wallets. Private Keys are required to open all Wallets, with the help of which coins can be sent and received.

There are many third-party wallets like this in which Electrum, Loafwallet, LiteVault, etc. Apart from this, if you are a desktop user then you can install Litecoin Core which is designed according to a full-fledged client by Litecoin Development Team and it is also updated continuously.

Litecoin's future

The future of Litecoin looks dazzling because according to the way the value of Litecoin has increased, according to that, more profit is expected in this value in the coming time.

Since it is faster than Bitcoin, its transactions are completed very quickly, so more and more people are getting attracted to it, and it may also cut the value of Bitcoin in the coming time.

The End!

I hope you found this article valuable. If yes, let me know in the comments 😊

Also, if you got questions ping me anywhere.