With inflation in the entire world, there is a need for an alternative method to survive in the fast-paced society. In the 21st century, with a rise in different modes of digital payment and investment, there is another way to rise slowly. Another way that is taking the world by storm is Cryptocurrency. The people are crazy about it but still not well-versed with the concept, and the questions regarding Cryptocurrency are flowing in the market. There are various cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, etc.
Bitcoin is one such Cryptocurrency that is quite popular among people, but really few people are aware of the existence of the lite version of Bitcoin called Litecoin. But what is Litecoin? It was released as a competition to bitcoin, and both can take the market to another level. But one needs to understand and learn about it in great detail. Here is a complete guide to help you to understand and learn about Litecoin.
What is Litecoin?
In 2011, a former Google engineer Charlie Lee founded Litecoin, a competitor to Bitcoin. A form of crypto payment to buy goods and services or even for trading purposes is Litecoin. Due to the similarities with Bitcoin, it is also called the “lite version of Bitcoin.” It was released on GitHub via an open-source. It is similar to Bitcoin but is unique in its way. But before diving deep into the concept of Litecoin, it is essential to learn about Cryptocurrency.
Understanding Litecoin
It is vital to understand Cryptocurrency to understand Litecoin. The digital model of payment is seen as the future of finance. It is quite a complicated concept, but with step-by-step guidance, it is fun to explore. In basic terms, Cryptocurrency is digital money that one can use for various purposes. There are many cryptocurrencies available in the market, such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, etc. Generally, there are three parties involved during a transaction process, but the world of Cryptocurrency is free from the third party and involves only two parties. Thus, it eliminates the role of banks or organizations in carrying out the transaction. A ledger is a place to record all the transactions as it is a peer-to-peer network.
Thus, the entire process of Cryptocurrency makes it decentralized money that is open to all. There is no requirement to get approval from anyone; you need to download a wallet. Litecoin is one such Cryptocurrency that has potential. This Cryptocurrency is helpful to make purchases without an involvement for transaction purposes of some intermediary. What is the price of Litecoin? Well, the highest Litecoin’s price was $301.73 in April 2021. Before that, it reached around $237.57 in 2017. These are for sure huge numbers and calculations, which require a lot of knowledge and clarity.
How to Use Litecoin?
One needs to set up a wallet and then can use Litecoins for transactions. It is a peer-to-peer network. Thus the transaction is made without any interference from banks. Similar to a bank transfer, you need to transfer the payment in the form of Litecoin.
How Litecoin Works?
Litecoin is a person-to-person network, and there is no intervention of authority. The litecoins are mined and later used as a currency. All the transactions are noted in the block that creates a chain.
How to Buy Litecoin?
After getting the answer to what is litecoin, it is essential to learn how to buy litecoin. There are various ways to purchase Litecoin, such as direct purchase, crypto ATM and exchange. The first method is to purchase Litecoin over the web or from an individual directly. However, the other way is to find a crypto ATM. The easiest method is to get your hands over a Litecoin through an exchange. The question that arises is that from where to get Litecoins through exchange? So, there are two options for that through which you can easily exchange and get your hands on Litecoin. The first option is to exchange it with other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Bitcoin, etc. Another way of exchanging is with fiat currency.
It is not at all difficult to get a Litecoin. Therefore, follow some steps to get this Cryptocurrency. The first step is to get your Litecoin wallet. This is a necessary step. Upon registration, the websites offer to download the wallet. You can also get Litecoin wallets by signing into Litecoin.org. The second step is to find an exchange that supports Litecoin. After this, you can begin the game of trading and are eligible to trade litecoins.
There is another option through which the trade takes place. A contract for difference caked CFDs is another way. The two parties adjust the starting litecoin price and the ending litecoin price as per the contract. Also, it is crucial to keep a check on the cost of litecoin. Currently, it is around 180.29 dollars!
How Long Does it Take to Mine One Litecoin?
The creation of Litecoins happens through a process called Mining. It also maintains the blockchains. But what is a blockchain? It is a distributed ledger consisting of all transactions ever made using the network. The miners receive the data, and transactions assemble them into structures. The structures are called Merkle trees that work to find hash, a mathematical function that gives an encrypted output from an input of arbitrary length.
So, in total, there are three steps:
- The miners maintain and update the ledgers.
- The grouping of all the data happens in a Block.
- Using the block, miners can calculate a hash and get a unique algorithm.
There is not a single miner working on this but a lot of miners. Therefore, this is a competitive task. The first miner to get a hash that is smaller than the target receives the block reward. It takes around 49.4 days to solve a single block mining solo and 3.9 days to mine a single litecoin. Thus, it is possible to mine about 0.25329018 litecoins in a day.
Litecoin v/s Bitcoin
Bitcoin dominated the world of Cryptocurrency, but Litecoin is slowly rising to give it tough competition. Bitcoin was founded in 2009, followed by Litecoin in 2011. Both cryptocurrencies have a lot of similarities. To avoid any scams or double payment, Bitcoin and Litecoin use a Proof-of-work validation system. Another similarity is Mining. Bitcoins and Litecoins come into existence through a process called Mining. The scarcity of coins adds another similarity. They also provide for halving. Apart from these, they are safe storage and one of the securest transaction mediums.
It is vital to dive deeper to understand the differences between the two cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin’s market cap is around $1 trillion, whereas Litecoin’s is $13.7 billion. The difference between the market caps is quite evident. Also, the transaction speed can be compared. Litecoin produces a more significant number of coins and has a faster transaction process than Bitcoin. These cryptocurrencies use different algorithms. Litecoin uses a comparatively newer algorithm called Scrypt, and bitcoin uses SHA-256. Both are a form of digital money and are easy to use.
The craze for Bitcoin is increasing with every passing day, but with time there are speculations of Litecoin taking the place of Bitcoin. These cryptocurrencies are similar when proof of work and other factors such as storage and transactions are considered. But Litecoin manages to beat Bitcoin in the transaction speed and distribution. But Bitcoins are dominant in market capitalization. Bitcoin is the most common Cryptocurrency as even the closest competitor; Ethereum cannot compete with market capitalization.
Litecoin’s Continuing Evolution
What is Litecoin Future?
It is a question that needs immediate attention. It is essential to track Litecoin’s evolution to get the answer to this question. If we talk about Litecoin’s price history, it evolved between 2011 and 2013. In 2017, it rose to 371 dollars and became the first of the top 5 cryptocurrencies to adopt Segregated Witness. After that, there was a continuous fall and rise. From December 2020 to May 2021, the price of Litecoin rose by 211%. There are speculations that even if it grows further, it will be an affordable cryptocurrency. There is a high probability that it will be more prevalent in the future because of various reasons. First of all, it uses a Scrypt protocol that means the miners who use hardware for Bitcoin cannot shift as they use SHA 256. This makes the entire process a decentralized one.
Secondly, it is faster processing with more giant blocks and more coins. It is already the fifth-largest crypto in the market and has a market cap of 11.68 billion dollars. A third factor that makes it the future of Cryptocurrency is that it is beneficial for people keen on long-term investment as Litecoin does not follow some dramatic and unreliable pattern. It does not rise or fall dramatically with significant changes.
What is The Price of Litecoin Today?
It is around 13,187.83 Indian Rupee. These are the few reasons that play the role of influential factors that Litecoins are the future of Cryptocurrency. But, unfortunately, these litecoins continue to evolve at a slow pace.
Benefits of Litecoin
In this rapid world, there is a need to match the speed with it. As Cryptocurrency is in trend, there is a need to remain up to date by investing in it. But there are benefits of investing in Litecoin, which any other cryptocurrency does not offer.
First of all, Litecoin is an open-source network. In easy terms, it comes with transparency, and everyone can see how it works. In addition, there is the flexibility that helps the transactions to take place conveniently and faster. The second significant benefit that litecoin offer is that there is no need to depend on a third party such as an organization or bank. It is a peer-to-peer network.
The best thing about Litecoin that makes it different from other cryptocurrencies in the market is the speed. It only takes 2.5 minutes to process a transaction, making it a secure medium as hackers cannot hamper it. The time is four times faster than a Bitcoin takes!
Litecoin has low transaction fees, which makes it even better than the traditional methods of payment. Other cryptocurrencies have a comparatively higher transaction fee, and this benefit of Litecoin is a cherry on the top. Even the inflation risk is eliminated as 84 million is the upper limit of the litecoin. Furthermore, In addition, Litecoin was developed by a former Google engineer. Thus the developing team is reliable and trustworthy. With so many benefits of Litecoin, it can be assumed that what is litecoin future? But it comes with few disadvantages as well.
Disadvantages of Litecoin
Everything has two sides-positive and negative. As litecoin comes with a bunch of advantages, there are some disadvantages as well. First, there is anonymity when it comes to this Cryptocurrency. This is why it adds a risk factor because one can also use Litecoin for conducting illegal tasks. Litecoins are not supported by the virtual currency that makes the path smooth for Bitcoins.
Conclusion
To sum up, this was the complete guide of an evolving cryptocurrency, i.e., Litecoin, a strong competitor of Bitcoin. It is vital to explore the market offering different products to get your hands on the best. Thus, it is essential to learn about the less talked about Cryptocurrency, Litecoin, before investing and choosing a path of digital payment. People are still curious to know what is litecoin? Thus, the complete guide helped you to understand this Cryptocurrency.
It is something that the world is still exploring; therefore, there are new additions every minute. But as said, this is the future of finance and the digital world! Also, after grabbing the knowledge about litecoin, it is vital to know the price of litecoin today? This is because it keeps on fluctuating with time, and one needs to keep an eye on it.
