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Litecoin

Litecoin (LTC)

layer-1

Litecoin is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies, created in 2011 as 'the silver to Bitcoin's gold,' offering faster block times and lower fees for everyday payments.

Consensus: Proof of Work (Scrypt)Launched: 2011Official Website

About Litecoin

Litecoin (LTC) is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency created by Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer, in October 2011. It was one of the first altcoins, forked from Bitcoin's codebase with key modifications: 4x faster block times (2.5 minutes vs 10), a different mining algorithm (Scrypt vs SHA-256), and 4x the total supply (84 million vs 21 million). Litecoin has served as a testing ground for Bitcoin features — it adopted SegWit and the Lightning Network before Bitcoin. In 2022, Litecoin added optional privacy through MWEB (MimbleWimble Extension Blocks), enabling confidential transactions. Litecoin is widely accepted by payment processors and has one of the most extensive merchant networks among cryptocurrencies.

Technical Specifications

56

TPS

~2.5 minutes

Block Time

$0.01–$0.05

Gas Fees

Proof of Work (Scrypt)

Consensus

Use Cases

Everyday payments with low fees and 2.5-minute confirmation times
Privacy-preserving transactions using MWEB (MimbleWimble)
Store of value with fixed supply and proven 13+ year track record

Pros

  • One of the oldest and most battle-tested cryptocurrencies (since 2011)
  • Faster block times (2.5 min) and lower fees than Bitcoin for payments
  • Fixed supply of 84 million LTC with halving schedule (deflationary)
  • MWEB provides optional privacy for confidential transactions
  • Widely accepted by payment processors (BitPay, CoinGate, etc.)

Cons

  • No smart contract support limits DeFi and dApp use cases
  • Struggling to differentiate from Bitcoin as Lightning Network reduces BTC fee issues
  • Lower development activity compared to newer blockchain projects
  • Not stakable — no passive income opportunity for holders

Where to Buy

BinanceCoinbaseKrakenBybitOKXGeminiKuCoinCrypto.comBitfinexGate.io

Frequently Asked Questions

This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk.

Quick Info

Symbol
LTC
Category
layer-1
Launched
2011
Smart Contracts
No
EVM Compatible
No

Last updated: 2026-04-01