In 2011, a Google engineer named Charlie Lee created Litecoin (LTC). Litecoin has a huge market capitalization of $5 billion. The intention behind forming Litecoin was not to replace or challenge the dominance of Bitcoin. However, the computer code behind Litecoin is similar to the code for Bitcoin. It also has a fixed supply but the reward for mining blocks will be smaller. Overall, those who prefer altcoins over Bitcoins but also want similar features generally choose Litecoin. As per the Bloomberg report, Litecoin (LTC) Spot ETF may soon gain regulatory approval and the possibility is over 90%.
Bitcoins and Litecoins have crucial differences that users of cryptocurrency exchanges must not overlook. It is worth noting that the differences override the superficial similarities significantly.
The total coin capitalization of Bitcoin is 21 million dollars. Litecoin has a coin capitalization of 84 million dollars. Litecoins are faster and can carry out 50 transactions per second. Bitcoin can carry out 7 transactions per second. Halving events are mandatory for both. But for Litecoin, the reward halving takes place after every 840,000 blocks. Contrastingly, for Bitcoin, the reward halving takes place after every 240,000 blocks. The algorithm standards are distinct, because Litecoin uses the Scrypt hashing algorithm, while Bitcoin uses SHA-256 hashing algorithm.
The rising popularity of Litecoins despite the dominance of Bitcoin and numerous altcoins is because of the following reasons.
Litecoin wallets are highly advantageous because they are useful in the full spectrum. It is compatible with hardware devices, web wallets, simple exchange accounts, and mobile wallets. Litecoin Foundations has a huge list of available compatible wallets. The speed of transactions is high and the fees are generally low. It is a preferred trading pair and is necessary for both wallets and exchanges.
Litecoin is now the “silver of the crypto market”. Many analysts believe that it has the potential to become the direct competitor of Bitcoin. However, the competition levels have risen considerably, because of the growing popularity of altcoins. Litecoin has a market capitalization of $8.8 billion and a significant trading volume of $1.2 billion. According to CoinMarketCap, it is the 20th largest cryptocurrency. Though new investors have many options to choose from, Litecoin still has the Unique Selling Point (USP) of being quite similar to Bitcoin. This is the reason people repose faith in it.
Litecoins will have an important role in the altcoin market. It has the solutions to prevent crypto sharks from becoming the mirror image of central banks. In 2024, the company activated Runes and it is available on the Bitcoin blockchain. Due to the availability of several options, it is hard to determine the exact worth but Litecoin continues to be a worthy investment. Risk tolerance, preferences, and outlook can turn it into a worthwhile investment. On the criteria of payment method, the advantages that the Litecoin network provides are too overwhelming. It is, therefore, an instrument and investment for speculation.