{"id":46366,"date":"2018-07-01T13:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-07-01T20:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/?p=46366"},"modified":"2021-03-03T17:03:48","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T17:03:48","slug":"introduction-to-litecoin-digital-silver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/introduction-to-litecoin-digital-silver\/","title":{"rendered":"Introduction to Litecoin – Digital Silver"},"content":{"rendered":"

Litecoin is\u00a0a persistent frontrunner in the payment cryptocurrency race.\u00a0With technological limitations, many Bitcoin (BTC) investors have shifted to Litecoin (LTC)\u2014an open-source fork of Nakamoto\u2019s original cryptocurrency with founder Charlie Lee.<\/p>\n

As a faster, cheaper version of Bitcoin<\/a>, Litecoin is nearly technically identical to BTC, but with distinctive fundamental differences.<\/p>\n

Litecoin strives to rival Bitcoin as a store of value while maintaining utility for everyday transactions. Litecoin reached a top-5 status with a loyal community, leading trade volumes and liquidity.<\/p>\n

What is Litecoin?<\/h2>\n

Litecoin emerged as a \u201clite\u201d<\/i> alternative to the Bitcoin\u2014 whose transaction longevity is approaching 10 years.<\/p>\n

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Litecoin is marketed at the “lite” alternative to Bitcoin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before Litecoin in the early 2010s, Bitcoin existed with its slow, costly transactions. The value of a truly decentralized peer-to-peer currency was a prospect to technological revolutionaries aware that Bitcoin\u2019s mechanics wouldn't serve in the long-run.<\/p>\n

With Bitcoin's 10-minute block creation time and mining model, cryptocurrency advocates sought an alternative. Many original \u2018altcoins\u2019 attempted\u00a0models with negligible improvements. Charlie Lee himself was involved in pioneering attempts, creating Fairbrix\u2014a fork of Tenebrix\u2014cutting block creation to 5-minutes.<\/p>\n

Lee then set out once more to create an altcoin capable of usurping Bitcoin.\u00a0To tackle this, Litecoin came from a 2011 fork of the original Bitcoin protocol (foregoing an ICO) with subtle but crucial modifications. Slashing block creation time to 2.5 minutes and pumping supply to 84 million (quadruple Bitcoin\u2019s 21 million), Litecoin combined speed and security.<\/p>\n

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Source: DigitalManish on Steemit<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Introduced as \u201csilver to Bitcoin\u2019s gold\u201d, <\/i>Litecoin didn't intend to annex Bitcoin. Complementing rather than rivaling Bitcoin, LTC has flourished over its smaller competitors.<\/p>\n

In Lee\u2019s eyes, Bitcoin functioned as gold\u2014 ideal for substantial transactions and a long-term store of value\u2014while Litecoin is for facilitating smaller, cheaper, everyday transactions.<\/p>\n

Litecoin founder Charlie Lee described his vision:<\/p>\n

“My vision is people would use Litecoin every day to buy things. It would just be the payment method of choice.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After almost a decade of development, this vision neared fruition with the February 2018 announcement of LitePay \u2014 permitting users to spend LTC as they would a debit or credit card. Scheduled for a February 26 launch, Litecoin was ready to enter the market and soared around 40% of the very first Point of Sale cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n

Still, as most cryptocurrency investors are aware, execution is what carries weight. LitePay closed-up shop on launch day and cited \u201chostile actions by card issuers\u201d<\/i> and quarrels with the Litecoin Foundation over funding\u2014both of which were enough to derail the project.<\/p>\n

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Like everyone else, we got too excited about something that was too good to be true and we optimistically overlooked many of the warning signs. I am sorry for having hyped up this company and vow to do better due diligence in the future. https:\/\/t.co\/khIjeHnyZ1<\/a><\/p>\n

— Charlie Lee [LTC\u26a1] (@SatoshiLite) March 26, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n