What is Litecoin(LTC)?

Litecoin is a decentralized, open-source layer-1 blockchain network with LTC as its native digital currency. It uses the Scrypt hashing mechanism to facilitate faster transaction speeds and cheaper gas fees compared to Bitcoin. 

Litecoin is often referred to as “Silver to Bitcoin gold” because it was built to complement Bitcoin by addressing its limitations, especially in terms of Transactions and cost, providing more efficient solutions for peer-to-peer payments in daily life.

What makes Litecoin(LTC) Unique?

Due to its low gas fees and high transaction speed, Litecoin (LTC) is widely used for everyday transactions, including microtransactions, peer-to-peer transfers, and merchant payments. It is also popular for cross-border remittances and is a cost-effective option for Cross-border payments. Also, LTC partially decentralizes finance via cross-chain solutions and allows the peer-to-peer transfer of different blockchains via atomic swaps.

Charlie Lee,  a former Google and Coinbase employee established Litecoin (LTC) in 2011  as an alternative to Bitcoin using its open-source code framework. Unlike Bitcoin which has a block production time of 10 minutes, Litecoin has a rate of 2. 5 Minutes due to its Proof. Of. Work consensus mechanism. It is the first platform to integrate the “Lightning Network”, a layer-2 scaling solution that enhances scalability for cost-effective transactions making it suitable, for transactions. 

It can also be used as a practical medium for everyday transactions accepted on various platforms such as Paypal and Litecoin Visa debit cards.

With "merge mining " miners of Litecoin can mine both LTC and DOGE concurrently without using energy resources. Additionally, this cryptocurrency incorporates MimbleWimple, a privacy protocol that enables transactions to take place privately 

History of Litecoin

Software developer Charlie Lee invented the cryptocurrency Litecoin in 2011. Lee graduated with a Master of Science in Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a software engineer at Google. After that, he worked as an engineering director at Coinbase until 2017. An affinity for poker helped Charlie understand the impact of financial independence, which motivated him to create Litecoin.

Litecoin was designed as a lighter version of Bitcoin, unlike BTC which is a store of value for longer periods, LTC was designed as sound money that can be used for everyday payments.

On January 6, 2017, Charlie Lee proposed the integration of Segregated Witness (SegWit) and the Lightning Network which enhances Litecoin’s capabilities.

On May 10, 2017, the SegWit upgrade was activated through a soft fork, introducing improvements, which include  Fixes for transaction malleability, Reduction of maximum transaction hashes, Increased block capacity, Enabled the Lightning Network, allowing off-chain payment channels for faster and cheaper transactions.

 On November 16, 2017, The first cross-chain swap between LTC/BTC was successfully executed, which showcased the potential of the Lightning Network.

On January 31, 2022, Mimblewimble Extension Block (MWEB) and Taproot network upgrades were released to improve privacy and security.

May 20, 2022: The MWEB and Taproot upgrades were activated through a soft fork improving security, and privacy, and reducing transaction fees.

The block rewards for mining Litecoin are subject to "halving," which occurs every 840,000 blocks (approximately every four years). The current reward is 6.25 LTC per block. The next halving event is scheduled for July 2027, in which the block reward decreases to 3.125 LTC. This process reduces Litecoin's inflation rate and will continue until the maximum supply of 84 million LTC is mined.

How does Litecoin(LTC) work?

Litecoin is an altcoin to Bitcoin. It uses the Proof-Of-Work mechanism on which Bitcoin works but enhances the performance and minimizes the gas fees. Unlike Bitcoin which uses SHA-256, It adopts the Scrypt hash algorithm for mining. This requires a significant amount of memory (RAM) to perform its calculations, which makes it more resistant to being mined by specialized hardware like ASICs(Application-Specific Integrated Circuits). 

The platform implemented the  SegWit(Segregated Witness) upgrade, where signature data and transaction data are segregated, improving the transaction capacity and reducing transaction malleability.  The feature made Litecoin implement Lightning Network. 

The blockchain has upgraded its security features by adding Mimblewimble Extension Block (MWEB), a feature that enhances privacy by not publicly displaying transaction amounts and balances for MWEB-enabled addresses and Taproot, which improves security, privacy, and reduces transaction fees.

The block rewards for mining Litecoinfollow a process called "halving," which occurs every 840,000 blocks (approximately every four years). The current reward is 6.25 LTC per block. The next halving event is scheduled for July 2027, when the block reward will decrease to 3.125 LTC. This process reduces Litecoin's inflation rate and will continue until the maximum supply of 84 million LTC is mined.

Understanding LTC: Key Facts and Performance Highlights

Litecoin (LTC) was first launched in October 2011 by Charlie Lee as a fork of Bitcoin, designed to offer faster transaction speeds and lower fees. Unlike an ICO (Initial Coin Offering) or pre-mining, Litecoin was released via an open-source client on GitHub, with no pre-mine, ensuring fair distribution from the beginning. Its initial price was left for the users to decide which went up to $50 within 10 days.  

Litecoin’s maximum supply is capped at 84 million coins, and unlike inflationary cryptocurrencies, it undergoes a halving event roughly every four years, reducing the block reward to miners and limiting the supply of new LTC. 

As of 2024, Litecoin's total circulating supply is around 84 million LTC, and its current market price is $56.65.
Litecoin reached its All-Time- High of $410 in May 2021 and its All-Time- Low of $1.15 in January 2015.

Where to buy Litecoin(LTC)?

As of 2024, Litecoin is listed on 30+ exchange platforms, with Bitfinex being the primary exchange where most of the token trade takes place. 

Almost all the exchange platforms are  CEX  with platforms like Binance,  Cryptology, Bitfinex, Phemex, FMFW.io, and only Komodo Wallet as a DEX platform.

The platforms available to the US markets are Bitfinex, CEX.IO, Coinzoom, Kraken, and Gemini.

Some Common Litecoin exchange pairs involve LTC/USDT, LTC/USD, LTC/BTC, LTC/EUR, and LTC/USDC.

Wallets that support Litecoin(LTC)?

“Litewallet”, serves as the official wallet for Litecoin. Designed with a strong emphasis on security and ease of use, it provides a seamless way to manage Litecoin.

Other options include "LedgerNANoX" and "NanoS", a hardware wallet that is one of the most preferred and secure wallets to store Litecoin. This wallet has more than  5 million users worldwide.

Other wallets include Exodus, Trezor, Guarda Wallet, Atomic Wallet, and more.

 Litecoin Prediction From The Year 2025-2030

As per Coinpedia, the Litecoin (LTC) price forecasts for the coming years from 2025-2030 could be as follows:

• 2025:
  LTC is expected to reach a high of $217.76, with a potential low of $144.11 and an average price of $180.94.

• 2026:
  The price could peak at $260.92, with a possible low of $207.30, averaging around $234.11.

• 2027:
  LTC’s maximum price is predicted to hit $334.00, with a low of $232.78 and an average of $283.39.

• 2028:
  The token could rise to a high of $380.72, with a low of $280.95 and an average price of $330.84.

• 2029:
  Litecoin might see a high of $444.34, a low of $379.74, and an average of $412.04.

• 2030:
  LTC could peak at $528.57, with a minimum of $402.23 and an average price of $465.40.