If you have been a follower of cryptocurrencies for a long time, then it would be impossible for you to venture into the trend without running across one of the most reputable coins ever – Litecoin. It is an open-source, peer-to-peer digital currency system, similar to Bitcoin, that was developed to improve on the shortcomings of its predecessor. Up to this extent, people are now calling Litecoin the “silver” to Bitcoin’s gold.
Similar to other variations of cryptocurrencies, Litecoin utilizes its blockchain technology to be as decentralized as it can as it aims to become one of the most accepted cryptocurrencies in the world. Moreover, Litecoin provides low-cost and instant payments at a global scale while being as decentralized as it can be at the same time. There are more things you need to know about Litecoin before you even think about investing in it. So here are 3 things that you need to know about Litecoin today.
Slowly Rising Through The Ranks
Back in October 2011, a new cryptocurrency was released to the public and slowly rose to fame with the project’s whitepaper by Bitcoinist Charlie Lee. At the time, Charlie Lee, a former employee of Google, recognized Bitcoin’s value but realized that there are areas that need improvements. Those improvements include focused on reduced fees, transaction times, and the reduction of concentrated mining pools.
Moreover, Litecoin only took two years to achieve a market capitalization of 1 billion dollars, and it continues to dominate the cryptocurrency market even today. In December 2017, Litecoin had just reached its all-time high of 360 dollars per coin, in which it represented an increase in value of more than %8200, compared to prior years. However, an interesting turn of events happened during the time it reached an all-time high in its market value when Charlie Lee decided to sell all his Litecoin holdings. He sold his holding because every time he publicly announces Litecoin’s rise and fall in market value, people are accusing him of doing things that he just for his benefit. In the end, he decided to avoid all the conflicts by selling Litecoin and denouncing himself as the LTC’s founder.
Getting Started With Trading
If you are now invested in cryptocurrencies, especially Litecoin, trading them is quite the same as any other cryptocurrency. You will need to monitor its market value to gain a firm understanding of its environment. For instance, positive news about Litecoin, such as a large-scale adoption or regulatory approval, usually translates to profitable gains for the crypto.
The Difference Between Bitcoin and Litecoin
While Bitcoin and Litecoin have similarities, such as having the same process for mining coins and are also held via a digital wallet, however, there are also significant differences that are worth noting. Similar to Bitcoin’s rewards for mining it, there are also rewards from Litecoin – For instance, Bitcoin rewards its miners with 12.5 bitcoins with every block. However, it’s halved by every 210,000 blocks, so its next halving reward would decrease to 6.25 coins.
In Litecoin’s case, a new block is added to the blockchain significantly faster than Bitcoin, and that is one of the reasons why people are moving their investments over to Litecoin. In regards to the rewards miners get, Litecoin miners are gifted with 25 coins per block, and it’s halved for every 840,000 blocks or every four years. Moreover, the number of Litecoins that will ever come into existence is significantly higher than that of Bitcoins as it will only have 21 million coins mined while Litecoin will reach up to 84 million coins.
The Cryptocurrency of Today!
To this day, Litecoin remains one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies in the world, having a market value of more than 57 dollars per coin. What’s more impressive is that Litecoin managed to maintain itself as a dominant player in the cryptocurrency game throughout the last five years, even though the overall capabilities of other cryptocurrencies have changed. Experienced investors are hopeful that it would continue to fill the crypto niche of being the silver to Bitcoin’s gold.