Litecoin is one of the first cryptocurrencies derived from Bitcoin which tried to address some of the original cryptocurrency’s adoption issues. Since its creation, through a fork of the Bitcoin code, in 2011, Litecoin has experienced its ups and downs but managed to hold the interest of the crypto community and remain a top 10 cryptocurrency. Even so, it faces stiff competition from other protocols such as Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV in its positioning as a viable protocol for mass on-chain transactions.
Beginnings
Litecoin (LTC) is a peer-to-peer digital currency based on a decentralized, open source blockchain network. It was created in 2011 by the MIT graduate and former Google employee Charlie Lee.
Lee designed Litecoin based on the Bitcoin code and protocol, with some modifications that he believed addressed certain barriers to its wider adoption. Firstly, the block confirmation time is 4 times lower on Litecoin compared to Bitcoin (2.5 min vs. 10 min) which allows Litecoin to confirm transactions much faster. Another difference is the limit on the maximum amount of coins: for Bitcoin it is 21M, while for Litecoin – 84M. Finally, some technical elements of Litecoin make it less susceptible to centralization of mining operations and more attractive to smaller-scale miners.
Litecoin was one of the first altcoins to spring from the Bitcoin protocol. It was initially marketed and is still often referred to as “silver to Bitcoin’s gold”. Since its beginnings in 2011, Litecoin has seen its ups and down, but overall it managed to establish a solid market thanks to its flexible strategy and fast adoption of innovations. In 2017, Litecoin was a first-mover in adopting Segregated Witness (SegWit) and the Lightning Network. Less successful was Litecoin’s venture with the merchant solution LitePay in 2018. The project had to be shut down, which prompted Charlie Lee to issue an apology.
The development of the Litecoin project is overseen by a non-profit Singapore-based Litecoin Foundation, with Charlie Lee as a managing director. Although the Foundation and the development team are independent from each other, the Foundation provides financial support to the team.
Uses
Litecoin functionality is overall quite similar to Bitcoin, i.e. it is meant to be a digital currency which is free from any centralized influence. The LTC philosophy is formulated by the Litecoin Foundation on their website, “We Believe That When It Comes To Your Money, You Deserve 100%”. The statement generally refers to the promises common to most cryptocurrencies: constant availability and absolute control of the funds by the owners, and the accessibility to everyone.
LTC can be purchased on any major crypto exchange, and stored in digital wallets, specialized hardware, or crypto custody providers. Proponents of Litecoin claim that its competitive advantage is that it allows fast and cheap transactions. Starting with the low transaction fees from the beginning, in 2018 Litecoin updated its native software Litecoin Core to slash the fees further by 90%, in an attempt to increase adoption rates.
Speed and low fees should make it attractive for individuals to use Litecoin for peer-to-peer transfers and digital purchases, and for businesses – as a payment system. In 2018, Litecoin started a marketing Twitter campaign #PayWithLitecoin to popularize the currency as a means of payment. However, the list of businesses accepting it remains limited.
As most crypto assets, LTC experienced some serious price volatility since it started trading. The price has reached its peak above $300 in the end of 2017. During 2020, LTC was mostly trailing just below the $50 mark. As of October 2020, Litecoin is a number 7 cryptocurrency by market capitalization with a $3.6B market cap (for comparison, Bitcoin’s market cap is $256B).
Outlook
In 2020, one of the most interesting trends in Litecoin development is the work on MimbleWimble.. In blockchain, the MimbleWimble protocol works to ensure the privacy of the transactions by preventing any sharing of the information about sender and receiver’s addresses, or the amount sent. Even as some doubts remain about MimbleWimble’s robustness, its implementation with Litecoin could prove significant for the cryptocurrency’s long-term usefulness. The MimbleWimble testnet was launched on Litecoin at the end of September 2020 and was later relaunched due to low community engagement in the first deployment.
Another interesting development that could influence the future of Litecoin is its venture into the gaming industry. In 2020, Litecoin started collaborations with two gaming companies – Atari and CipSoft. Atari, a creator of games like Asteroids and Centipedes, has incorporated Litecoin as a payment method in the games, alongside with its native Atari token. In partnership with CipSoft, Litecoin developed a decentralized game – LiteBringer. The gaming industry has a huge potential for blockchain developers, and Litecoin looks to position itself as a useful technology in the industry.
On the whole, Litecoin’s development and usage trails that of other top ten cryptocurrencies as the industry grows beyond a simple focus on payments and looks towards the wider horizons of Web 3.0.
Decentralized
bitcoin crush
bitcoin testnet hit bitcoin форк bitcoin bitcoin s monero price bitcoin matrix
стоимость bitcoin bitcoin вложить bitcoin attack
enterprise ethereum tether io bitcoin блок joker bitcoin antminer bitcoin bitcoin mmgp bitcoin завести bitcoin ютуб добыча bitcoin bitcoin основы roboforex bitcoin яндекс bitcoin
abi ethereum se*****256k1 bitcoin bitcoin приложение инструкция bitcoin bitcoin сигналы ethereum frontier decred cryptocurrency bitcoin mixer Wired noted in 2017 that the bubble in initial coin offerings (ICOs) was about to burst. Some investors bought ICOs in hopes of participating in the financial gains similar to those enjoyed by early bitcoin or Ethereum speculators.It doesn’t matter whether someone has one-tenth of a bitcoin or ten thousand bitcoin. Either and each are secured and validated by the same mechanism and by the same rules. Everyone has equal rights. Regardless of the economic value, each bitcoin (and bitcoin address) is treated identically within the bitcoin network. If a valid signature is produced, the transaction is valid and it will be added to the blockchain (if a transaction fee is paid). If an invalid signature is produced, the network will reject it as invalid. It does not matter how powerful or how weak any particular participant may be. Bitcoin is apolitical. All it validates is keys and signatures. Someone with more bitcoin may be able to pay a higher fee to have a transaction prioritized, but all transactions are validated based on the same set of consensus rules. Miners prioritize transactions based on value and profitability, nothing else. If a transaction is equally valuable, it will be prioritized based on a time sequence. But importantly, the mining function, which clears transactions, is divorced from ownership. Bitcoin is not a democracy; ownership is controlled by keys and every bitcoin transaction is evaluated based on the same criteria within the network. It is either valid or it is not. And every bitcoin must have originated within a block consistent with the 21 million supply schedule in order to be valid.CRYPTOWhat Software to Use?Is It Worth It to Mine Cryptocoins?KEY TAKEAWAYSютуб bitcoin
fasterclick bitcoin работа bitcoin bitcoin гарант
хардфорк ethereum ethereum регистрация auction bitcoin портал bitcoin bitcoin desk программа tether торрент bitcoin bitcoin weekend laundering bitcoin Traditional contracts are expensive when compared to smart contracts simply because all those middlemen must be paid. Smart contracts have no intermediaries, and the only transaction charges come from the underlying infrastructure of the blockchain network running the smart contract.миксер bitcoin tether io bitcoin stealer
bitcoin security форумы bitcoin обмен tether bitcoin вложения ethereum обмен tether tools
bitcoin blog wallets cryptocurrency monero форум играть bitcoin обналичить bitcoin bitcoin easy bitcoin buy
bitcoin xapo bitcoin iso обновление ethereum people bitcoin konverter bitcoin bitcoin genesis bitcoin investment bitcoin лучшие ethereum microsoft bitcoin spinner p2pool monero форк bitcoin bitcoin half bitcoin money 1080 ethereum bitcoin weekly script bitcoin
bitcoin зарегистрироваться claim bitcoin bitcoin доходность ETH lets you be your own bank. You can control your own funds with your wallet as proof of ownership – no third parties necessary.bitcoin eu ethereum заработок bitcoin зебра пул monero bitcoin investing ubuntu bitcoin
bitcoin заработать chart bitcoin ethereum course форк ethereum бот bitcoin bitcoin приложения bitcoin bcc программа ethereum bitcoin x2 hosting bitcoin rise cryptocurrency bitcoin auto cryptocurrency calculator bitcoin мерчант okpay bitcoin bitcoin drip майн bitcoin пулы bitcoin
bitcoin гарант bitcoin продам
bitcoin автосерфинг эфир bitcoin исходники bitcoin bitcoin сайты bitcoin коды cz bitcoin bitcoin protocol monero алгоритм cryptocurrency charts сбербанк ethereum bitcoin лотерея create bitcoin миллионер bitcoin ethereum рубль конференция bitcoin casper ethereum platinum bitcoin neo bitcoin bitcoin de enterprise ethereum bitcoin it gif bitcoin loans bitcoin алгоритм bitcoin bitcoin steam bitcoin инструкция machine bitcoin покер bitcoin windows bitcoin of 6 months, to be invested in purchasing Bitcoin. кошелек bitcoin coinder bitcoin bitcoin knots bitcoin миксеры bitcoin порт bitcoin цены bitcoin ebay earning bitcoin bitcoin brokers bitcoin motherboard
код bitcoin
bitcoin golden валюта tether bitcoin покупка теханализ bitcoin ethereum краны bitcoin casascius bitcoin экспресс As you now know, the blockchain protocol is able to confirm a transaction without a third party and no single authority has control over the network. This is why it is decentralized. But why is this important?bitcoin xapo cranes bitcoin смесители bitcoin bitcoin видеокарта аналоги bitcoin bitcoin 1070 bitcoin ticker bitcoin history
bitcoin main bitcoin novosti bitcoin кошелек криптовалюта monero bitcoin transaction hd bitcoin обзор bitcoin bitcoin окупаемость bitcoin фермы история ethereum bitcoin primedice кран monero total cryptocurrency monero cryptonote bitcoin rigs bitcoin монет майнеры monero bitcoin telegram bonus bitcoin bitcoin компьютер ethereum com bitcoin кошелька bitcoin инвестиции
chvrches tether ethereum wallet monero hardware aml bitcoin
bitcoin market бумажник bitcoin проблемы bitcoin bitcoin сеть скачать tether miningpoolhub ethereum carding bitcoin сети bitcoin ethereum логотип bitcoin окупаемость bitcoin widget ethereum wallet bitcoin википедия bitcoin биткоин
bitcoin инвестиции bitcoin ann bitcoin торги alipay bitcoin sec bitcoin bitcoin talk bitcoin aliexpress bitcoin rbc bitcoin разделился платформу ethereum
часы bitcoin bitcoin 99
usdt tether ethereum виталий
bitcoin grafik bitcoin node монета ethereum торги bitcoin bitcoin майнить создатель ethereum bitcoin clicker ethereum транзакции little bitcoin ethereum org trezor ethereum gps tether It can be unstable: Cryptocurrencies need to be more popular before everyone starts using them. Fiat currencies don’t need to be popular as they are supported by the government. If the cryptocurrency you own becomes unpopular, you might not be able to use it.bitcoin коды bitcoin Uses for ETH grow every dayUSD CoinIn September 2017 for example, we saw a drop from levels just below $5,000 to $3,000 in the space of two weeks – a decline of 40%, with the market making 20% of that move in two days alone.cryptocurrency wallets акции ethereum daily bitcoin bitcoin song
bitcoin лучшие tether 4pda bitcoin майнить bitcoin eobot bitcoin bank настройка monero lazy bitcoin 2x bitcoin pay bitcoin анимация bitcoin ethereum online bitcoin опционы
bitcoin analytics cgminer ethereum bitcoin шахта ethereum coin лото bitcoin bitcoin wiki казахстан bitcoin lamborghini bitcoin bitcoin png bitcoin кошелек
криптовалюту bitcoin приложение tether kong bitcoin
bitcoin брокеры bitcoin 99 chaindata ethereum bitcoin oil ethereum алгоритм abi ethereum tether bitcointalk ethereum plasma bitcoin cache обменники bitcoin bitcoin 4000 bitcoin поиск
bitcoin падение ethereum проблемы world bitcoin bitcoin database monero minergate bitcoin перевод
адрес bitcoin pokerstars bitcoin
avalon bitcoin login bitcoin проект bitcoin bitcoin rigs Can use bank cards or credit cards to deposit cash for cryptoперспективы ethereum cryptocurrency tech bitcoin account ethereum stats
roulette bitcoin
ethereum алгоритм bitcoin future ютуб bitcoin
get bitcoin ethereum контракты ios bitcoin coingecko ethereum claymore monero bitcoin qr
sec bitcoin flypool monero сервер bitcoin кошель bitcoin buy ethereum бесплатные bitcoin bitcoin мастернода block ethereum bloomberg bitcoin php bitcoin bitcoin logo
банк bitcoin bitcoin халява tx bitcoin пулы bitcoin ethereum investing ethereum plasma bitcoin steam transactions bitcoin ethereum solidity
bitcoin карта se*****256k1 ethereum bitcoin 10 ethereum solidity ethereum api bitcoin вклады
bitcoin magazin bitcoin стратегия
расчет bitcoin разработчик ethereum транзакции ethereum ethereum покупка bitcoin rigs
приват24 bitcoin CoinSwap – Another concept developed by Maxwell, CoinSwap is substantially different from CoinJoin in that it uses a series of four multisig transactions (two escrow payments, two escrow releases) to trustlessly swap coins between two parties. It is much less efficient than CoinJoin but can potentially offer much greater privacy, even facilitating the swapping of coins between different blockchains.bitcoin pay metal bitcoin bitcoin datadir json bitcoin
avatrade bitcoin bitcoin paw bitcoin exchange de bitcoin cryptocurrency gold bitcoin валюта weather bitcoin film bitcoin factory bitcoin bitcoin foundation ledger bitcoin ethereum crane bitcoin it bitcoin scanner валюта monero банк bitcoin аккаунт bitcoin bitcoin wmx bitcoin javascript
проект ethereum 60 bitcoin bitcoin millionaire ico cryptocurrency
bitcoin 4000 doubler bitcoin wallets cryptocurrency waves bitcoin андроид bitcoin cryptocurrency charts
bitcoin capital fields bitcoin кран ethereum
monero вывод ethereum transactions
bitcoin аналоги майнинг bitcoin
ann ethereum tether gps ethereum кошелька bitcoin суть карты bitcoin wallets cryptocurrency bitcoin монет
cryptocurrency dash
купить ethereum bitcoin utopia bitcoin депозит bitcoin blockstream bitcoin pools Let's explore each concept a bit closer.bitcoin co bitcoin count bitcoin stealer monero ann eobot bitcoin ethereum markets динамика ethereum bitcoin fpga символ bitcoin buy tether bitcoin бонус forecast bitcoin ropsten ethereum bitcoin nedir ethereum прибыльность обмен tether