Litecoin (LTC) Price

Litecoin Foundation

The Litecoin Foundation is a one-of-a-kind non-profit organization based in Singapore. Dedicated to promoting the use of Litecoin, a popular cryptocurrency, the foundation aims to support and advance its development while fostering education and adoption.

As a non-profit establishment, their primary focus lies in initiatives that benefit the Litecoin community and ecosystem. By collaborating with industry leaders, conducting research, and organizing events, the Litecoin Foundation plays a vital role in enhancing the understanding and utilization of Litecoin as a secure and efficient digital currency.

Litecoin Crypto

Litecoin (LTC) is a popular digital currency that offers an efficient and secure way to make transactions. Its purchasing power has increased over time, and many merchants worldwide eagerly accept Litecoin as a form of payment. Some notable examples include Overstock, an online retailer that accepts Litecoin for various products, including electronics and home goods.

Another example is eGifter, a platform that allows users to purchase gift cards from major retailers using Litecoin. Some travel agencies, like CheapAir, have embraced the Litecoin cryptocurrency as a payment option for flight and hotel bookings.

Litecoin vs. Bitcoin

Litecoin is often touted as the "silver to Bitcoin's gold" because it is similar to Bitcoin technology, yet with some distinct features. Just like gold and silver, Bitcoin and Litecoin are both decentralized cryptocurrencies, but there are a couple of key differences between them.

While Bitcoin (BTC) is seen as a store of value and a digital currency, Litecoin aspires to enhance transactional efficiency. It achieves this through faster block generation times and a different hashing algorithm.

Litecoin's block confirmation time is approximately four times faster than the Bitcoin network, allowing for quicker transactions and a potential edge in day-to-day use cases. Litecoin (LTC Token) has a larger maximum supply of 84 million coins compared to Bitcoin's 21 million.

Litecoin Blockchain

Litecoin blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger that forms the backbone of the Litecoin cryptocurrency. Created in 2011 by computer scientist Charlie Lee, it is an open-source project governed by the MIT/X11 license, offering users the freedom to run, modify, and distribute the software.

Built as a peer-to-peer network, Litecoin blockchain enables secure and efficient transactions with a faster payment confirmation schedule compared to Bitcoin. Utilizing a different cryptographic algorithm called Scrypt, it strives to become a lighter and more accessible alternative to Bitcoin, providing users with a user-friendly and cost-effective means of conducting P2P transactions.

The Litecoin Network is going to be upgraded with the Mimblewimble Extension Block (MWEB). Mimblewimble is a privacy-enhancing protocol proposed for the Litecoin network. It looks to improve transaction privacy and fungibility by encrypting transfer amounts and implementing features like CoinJoin. Integration of Mimblewimble could enhance user privacy and potentially improve scalability by reducing transaction sizes. Development and testing for this upgrade are ongoing.

The Litecoin Protocol has also integrated the Lightning Network, a second-layer scaling solution for cryptocurrencies. It enables faster and cheaper Litecoin transactions by creating off-chain payment channels. These channels allow users to conduct multiple transactions without directly involving the main blockchain, reducing congestion and fees. The Lightning Network is intended to enhance scalability, promote instant transactions, and improve the overall efficiency of the network.

Litecoin Network Consensus Mechanism

Litecoin, similar to the Bitcoin blockchain, employs a consensus algorithm called "Proof of Work" (PoW). However, there is a slight variation in the algorithm employed by Litecoin, known as "Scrypt." Scrypt is more memory-intensive than Bitcoin's SHA-256 algorithm, which enhances the mining process for Litecoin.

This algorithm aims to make mining more accessible to a broader range of participants by requiring less specialized hardware and reducing the advantage of large-scale mining operations. Scrypt's implementation in Litecoin helps maintain a decentralized network while offering faster transaction confirmations and a higher maximum supply compared to Bitcoin.

How is Litecoin Cryptocurrency Used?

LTC is a form of digital currency that offers fast, low-cost transactions worldwide. It serves as a secure store of value and is often regarded as an improved version of Bitcoin, comparable to gold. Additionally, Litecoin empowers the "unbanked" population by enabling them to create online wallets and participate in the global financial network, bridging the gap for the estimated 1.4 billion individuals who lack traditional banking services.

Who Created Litecoin?

Litecoin was created by Charlie Lee, an early Bitcoin miner and former Google employee, in October 2011. The software engineer intended Litecoin to be a “Lite version of Bitcoin," with low-cost and high-speed transactions to handle point-of-sale transactions and everyday payments.

Litecoin is essentially a fork of Bitcoin, and it shares many similarities with its predecessor in terms of technology and design. However, the two cryptocurrencies differ radically, such as LTC has a different hashing algorithm (Scrypt), a different hard cap, and a shorter block generation time.

Second only to Bitcoin in terms of market cap, Litecoin is one of the most widely accepted cryptocurrencies to date. This success can be largely attributed to its simplicity and clear utility benefits.

The Uniqueness of Litecoin

Unlike many other popular cryptocurrencies, Litecoin was specifically designed to prioritize fairness, decentralization, and the utmost utility for its users. Since its inception in 2011, Litecoin has maintained certain unique features:

A max supply of 84 million coins, which safeguards against inflation.

Miners receive a specific number of Litecoins as a reward whenever they successfully produce a block (2.5 minutes is an approximate block time). Initially, the mining reward was 50 Litecoins per block. However, after every 840,000 blocks (roughly every 4 years), this reward is halved until it eventually reaches zero by around the year 2142. Currently, the block reward stands at 12.5 coins per block, decreasing to 6.25 coins after the next LTC halving event.

Any modifications to these rules necessitate consensus among all Litecoin participants, particularly the miners supporting the Litecoin network.

Every Litecoin transaction must be added to the Litecoin blockchain, the official ledger of completed transactions, to be considered successful and valid. Miners are rewarded for processing these transactions and supporting the network. Each block added to the blockchain includes a 'block reward' and transaction fees, with the average fee being less than a penny.

Litecoin transactions are typically confirmed within a minute or two, with transaction fees being nearly zero-pay. This makes the LTC Coin an attractive, usable alternative to Bitcoin, especially in developing countries that utilize digital assets for real-time payments.

Litecoin Mining

Litecoin mining is the process of checking and adding new transactions to the Litecoin blockchain, as well as minting new Litecoins. The Litecoin network, similar to other cryptocurrencies, relies on miners to secure the network and maintain its decentralized nature. Miners compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles in order to create new blocks about every 2.5 minutes. This process is known as mining.

Every time a miner successfully produces a new block, they are rewarded with a certain number of LTC coins. The current block reward is 12.5 LTCs, but it undergoes a halving event approximately every four years. Litecoin halving reduces the block reward by half, meaning that the reward will be reduced to 6.25 Litecoins after the next halving. This event is meant to control the inflation rate and limit the total supply of the Litecoin Token.

Litecoin mining requires specialized hardware, such as Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) miners, to perform the highly computational tasks efficiently. Miners also need to cover the costs of electricity and maintenance, considering the energy-intensive nature of digital asset mining.

Litecoin mining will continue generating new coins until approximately the year 2142, at which point the maximum supply of 84 million Litecoins will have been reached. After that, miners will only receive transaction fees as their reward for securing the network.

Litecoin Price Chart

Litecoin, a popular cryptocurrency, has a total capped supply of 84M LTC coins. The project began with 150 pre-mined tokens, which were mined by Litecoin developers prior to the public launch of the asset. Over time, the price of Litecoin has experienced varying levels of volatility.

The lowest price point ever recorded for Litecoin was around $1.11, while the highest price point reached an all-time high of approximately 412 USD. These cryptocurrency price fluctuations reflect the dynamic nature of the crypto asset landscape and the potential for significant gains or losses in the value of LTC.

Changelly, a leading cryptocurrency exchange platform, provides an interactive Litecoin price chart that updates in real time and demonstrates a live price of LTC today and other important data related to Litecoin’s performance in the crypto market.

By using our price charts, Litecoin users, traders and investors can get the ultimate understanding of the coin’s current market capitalization, the LTC USD price, 24-hour trading volume, the circulating supply of LTC tokens up to date, maximum total supply, and the Litecoin price history across different periods.

Litecoin’s market cap is determined by multiplying the current price of the LTC cryptocurrency by the total number of LTC coins in circulation. The formula is: Market Cap = Average Price per LTC Token * Total Circulating Supply.

This exhaustive information allows LTC traders and investors to:

• Improve LTC price prediction accuracy

• Utilize real-time data for intelligent decision-making

• Monitor current price change movements and crypto market trends

• Analyze the historical performance of the LTCs price

If the Litecoin LTC price seems a promising investment opportunity for you, buy Litecoin, along with 550 more cryptocurrencies, on Changelly. Our intuitive cryptocurrency exchange platform allows you to use a debit card, credit card, bank account, and a number of other traditional payment methods to buy Litecoin (LTC) or other digital assets like Bitcoin Cash or USD Coin, using a local fiat currency.

If you are not planning to buy crypto, but wish to dispose of your virtual holdings, you can easily trade Litecoin for other cryptocurrencies or sell Litecoin for fiat currencies and withdraw the funds to your bank card or account, using our comprehensive crypto exchange as well.

What Affects the Litecoin Price?

Multiple factors can influence the market price of Litecoin.

General market sentiment and investor demand play a significant role. Positive news about the cryptocurrency industry or overall market trends can drive up the LTC price today, while negative sentiment or market corrections may cause it to plummet.

The Litecoin price and its current market cap can be impacted by specific events, such as regulatory announcements, technological advancements, partnerships, and adoption by businesses. For example, when Litecoin implemented the Lightning Network upgrade or when it was listed on major crypto exchanges, the Litecoins price experienced significant surges. On the flip side, security breaches, regulatory crackdowns, or negative publicity can cause rapid Litecoin price declines.

Although Litecoin today is one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, investing in it comes with financial risks. As with any investment, it's important to carefully evaluate these factors before deciding to buy, trade, or sell Litecoin.

Get acquainted with a detailed Litecoin price prediction, scrutinize LTC price history, and perform technical analysis to understand the potential growth or decline of LTC’s value in the market.

This guide is for an informational purpose only, you should buy, sell, trade, or hold with crypto assets at your own risk.