Litecoin — one of the oldest cryptocurrencies, launched in 2011 by engineer Charlie Lee. The idea was to create a "lighter" version of Bitcoin: the same concept of decentralized digital money, but with changes designed to make the network faster and more accessible for everyday transactions.
Key facts
Creator: Charlie Lee (Charlie Lee).
-Launch year: 2011.
- Mining algorithm: Scrypt (differs from Bitcoin's SHA-256).
- Block time: ~2.5 minutes (faster confirmations than BTC).
- Maximum supply: 84,000,000 LTC (four times more than BTC).
How Litecoin works and why it's useful: Litecoin functions as a blockchain currency — transactions are grouped into blocks, miners confirm blocks, and the network updates the ledger. The shorter block time makes transaction confirmation faster, which theoretically makes LTC easier to use for small payments and transfers. Litecoin also early adopted certain technological upgrades — for example, SegWit — and is compatible with the Lightning Network, expanding scalability and fast micro-payment capabilities.
Differences from Bitcoin
-Faster transaction confirmations.
-Different hashing (Scrypt) — historically meant a different mining model.
-Higher maximum coin supply (84 million compared to 21 million for BTC).
- In short, Litecoin is often positioned as 'digital silver' in contrast to Bitcoin's 'digital gold'.
Risks and limitations of Cryptocurrency are volatile — prices can change abruptly. Technologically, Litecoin largely repeats Bitcoin's ideas, so its long-term advantage depends on adoption, infrastructure, and development. Before buying or using, it's important to study the project and assess the risks.
In short: Litecoin is a time-tested altcoin network focused on faster and cheaper transactions compared to BTC.
Not financial advice.
