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Most people have now heard of Bitcoin, the digital currency that has made headlines in recent years thanks to its phenomenal increase (and occasional crash) of value.
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But Bitcoin it is only the first of many digital currencies known as cryptocurrencies due to the use of sophisticated computerized cryptos that prevent them from being spent more than once, thus giving them their intrinsic value.
In fact, now there are well over 1,000 cryptocurrencies, with more and more emerging. One of the most popular and lasting is Litecoin. But how is it different from Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? Here is my overview of the currency that is often considered the gold for Bitcoin gold.
Before diving, as always, remember that investing in cryptocoins or token is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone who considers it should be ready to lose the entire investment.
What is Litecoin?
The code used to create Bitcoin was released in the public domain – or made open source – by the mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. This means that anyone can take it, modify it and use it to launch its cryptocurrencies. That many people did – and Litecoin was one of the first to gain traction.
Although originally based on the same code, Bitcoin and Litecoin transfers are completely separate blockchains, in effect means that they are different currencies.
Litecoin was created in 2011 by former Google engineer Charlie Lee. The goal was to create a currency based on blockchain that solved some of the problems inherent in Bitcoin, especially the low transfer rates. When it was launched in 2009, Bitcoin transactions would take about 10 minutes to complete. Due to the increase in network size and Bitcoin blockchain, transactions today can take between 30 minutes and, in extreme cases, over 24 hours.
Another problem that Litecoin was designed to solve was the mining "arms race". Mining – the process by which new Bitcoins and Litecoin are created – involves the use of computer processing power to execute complex algorithms, creating new blocks on the blockchain. Once Bitcoin began to be traded for "real" currencies like the US dollar, Bitcoin mining quickly turned into an arms race as miners threw an increasing amount of processing power into creating coins more quickly .
Litecoin mining, however, being based on an algorithm known as scrypt, rather than on the Bitcoin SHA256 algorithm, could not be accelerated so easily simply by increasing the amount of processing power generated by the problem. This was designed to lead to Litecoin supply increasing at a steady pace.
Gold and silver
Proponents of Litecoin often refer to it as a silver for Bitcoin gold. It is an interesting metaphor that resists control – while a unit of Litecoin is certainly less valuable than a unit of Bitcoin, both are raw materials that are used as a store of value.
Like gold and silver, Bitcoin and Litecoin are distinguished from one another by their availability. The Bitcoin network has been built so that there are never more than 21 million coins. The possible supply of Litecoin will exceed 84 million, and this discrepancy in the supply dimension is another factor that has determined the analogy of gold and silver.
While the analogy arises today, it is worth mentioning that neither Bitcoin nor Litecoin are in fact precious metals. They are IT applications that use different methods to achieve the same results, allowing transactions in digital currencies. The faster response times of Litecoin could eventually lead to more useful Bitcoins, and their relative value could change drastically, perhaps meaning that a unit of Litecoin becomes more valuable than a Bitcoin unit. Although today seems unlikely, it is worth remembering that cryptocurrencies are a very new thing, compared to gold and silver that have been with us for millennia. The mechanisms around their supply and demand are much less known.
Where can I buy Litecoin?
As one of the most successful cryptocurrencies, there are a number of options available for anyone who wants to buy Litecoin, whether it is spent, or just a speculative investment.
Coinbase It allows you to use credit cards and debit cards to buy them with "fiat" currency (centrally controlled currencies controlled as USD or GBP). Litecoinlocal corresponds to buyers with sellers for peer-to-peer business. Many other cryptocurrant exchanges included Binance is Bittrex allow trading in different pairs of cryptocurrencies, if you already have Bitcoin and want to diversify your crypto portfolio.
Where can I spend Litecoins?
Although Litecoin is still not as widely accepted as Bitcoin, there are some options if you do not want to keep them in case they increase in value.
overstock it's the closest thing to an Amazon cryptocurrant, with a wide range of household items, electronics and fashion available to US buyers.
A wide range of jewelry can be purchased with Litecoin (as well as a series of other encrypted) a Cryptojeweller.
Clothing (mainly cryptocurrency theme t-shirts) can be purchased on Cryptoverge.
If you want to keep anonymity when buying VPN or anonymous e-mail services, then many providers are included Torguard& Nbsp; is NordVPN will accept payments in cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Litecoin.
And if you want to convert your digital gold and silver into true gold and silver, then COAex allows you to exchange Bitcoin or Litecoin for bars of precious metal.
Of course, this is only a scratch on the surface, to show the wide range of goods and services that are gradually becoming available in exchange for Litecoin or cryptocurrencies. A more complete and frequently updated list is available Reddit.
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Most people have now heard of Bitcoin, the digital currency that has made headlines in recent years thanks to its phenomenal increase (and occasional crash) of value.
But Bitcoin is only the first of many digital currencies – known as cryptocurrencies because of their use of sophisticated computerized cryptos that prevent them from being spent more than once, thus giving them their intrinsic value.
In fact, now there are well over 1,000 cryptocurrencies, with more and more emerging. One of the most popular and lasting is Litecoin. But how is it different from Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? Here is my overview of the currency that is often considered the gold for Bitcoin gold.
Before diving, as always, remember that investing in cryptocoins or token is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone who considers it should be ready to lose the entire investment.
What is Litecoin?
The code used to create Bitcoin was released in the public domain – or made open source – by the mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. This means that anyone can take it, modify it and use it to launch its cryptocurrencies. That many people did – and Litecoin was one of the first to gain traction.
Although it was originally based on the same code, transfers of Bitcoin and Litecoin are recorded on entirely separate blockchains, which means that they are different currencies.
Litecoin was created in 2011 by former Google engineer Charlie Lee. The goal was to create a currency based on blockchain that solved some of the problems inherent in Bitcoin, especially the low transfer rates. When it was launched in 2009, Bitcoin transactions would take about 10 minutes to complete. Due to the increase in network size and Bitcoin blockchain, transactions today can take between 30 minutes and, in extreme cases, over 24 hours.
Another problem that Litecoin was designed to solve was the mining "arms race". Mining – the process by which new Bitcoins and Litecoin are created – involves the use of computer processing power to execute complex algorithms, creating new blocks on the blockchain. Once Bitcoin began to be traded for "real" currencies like the US dollar, Bitcoin mining quickly turned into an arms race as miners threw an increasing amount of processing power into creating coins more quickly .
Litecoin mining, however, being based on an algorithm known as scrypt, rather than on the Bitcoin SHA256 algorithm, could not be accelerated so easily simply by increasing the amount of processing power generated by the problem. This was designed to lead to Litecoin supply increasing at a steady pace.
Gold and silver
Proponents of Litecoin often refer to it as a silver for Bitcoin gold. It is an interesting metaphor that resists control – while a unit of Litecoin is certainly less valuable than a unit of Bitcoin, both are raw materials that are used as a store of value.
Like gold and silver, Bitcoin and Litecoin are distinguished from one another by their availability. The Bitcoin network has been built so that there are never more than 21 million coins. The possible supply of Litecoin will exceed 84 million, and this discrepancy in the supply dimension is another factor that has determined the analogy of gold and silver.
While the analogy arises today, it is worth mentioning that neither Bitcoin nor Litecoin are in fact precious metals. They are IT applications that use different methods to achieve the same results, allowing transactions in digital currencies. The faster response times of Litecoin could eventually lead to more useful Bitcoins, and their relative value could change drastically, perhaps meaning that a unit of Litecoin becomes more valuable than a Bitcoin unit. Although today seems unlikely, it is worth remembering that cryptocurrencies are a very new thing, compared to gold and silver that have been with us for millennia. The mechanisms around their supply and demand are much less known.
Where can I buy Litecoin?
As one of the most successful cryptocurrencies, there are a number of options available for anyone who wants to buy Litecoin, whether it is spent, or just a speculative investment.
Coinbase allows you to use credit cards and debit cards to buy them with "fiat" currency (centralized controlled currencies controlled like USD or GBP). Litecoinlocal connects buyers with sellers for the peer-to-peer business. Many other exchanges of cryptocurrencies, including Binance and Bittrex, allow trading in different pairs of cryptocurrencies, if you already have Bitcoin and want to diversify your crypto portfolio.
Where can I spend Litecoins?
Although Litecoin is still not as widely accepted as Bitcoin, there are some options if you do not want to keep them in case they increase in value.
Overstock is the closest thing to an Amazon cryptocurrant, with a wide range of household items, electronics and fashion available to US buyers.
A wide range of jewelry can be purchased with Litecoin (as well as a series of other encrypted ones) at Cryptojeweller.
Clothing (mainly cryptocurrency theme t-shirts) can be purchased from Cryptoverge.
If you want to maintain anonymity when you purchase VPN or anonymous e-mail services, many providers, including Torguard and NordVPN, will accept cryptocurrency payments, including Bitcoin and Litecoin.
And if you want to convert digital gold and silver into gold and silver, then COAex allows you to exchange Bitcoin or Litecoin with precious metal bars.
Of course, this is only a scratch on the surface, to show the wide range of goods and services that are gradually becoming available in exchange for Litecoin or cryptocurrencies. A more complete and frequently updated list is available on Reddit.
