Litecoin cryptocurrency (LTC) is a fork of Bitcoin. Created and operates on a blockchain basis. Litecoin is considered to be the largest and most successful fork. It would be more correct to call LTC – a decentralized payment network. Litecoin and Bitcoin blocks are written in the same way. The differences lie in the hashing algorithm. LTC has the script, while Bitcoin has SHA-256.

Litecoin cryptocurrency is open source. The operation of the network is dependent and controlled by all its participants through the network protocol running on all computers of the peer-to-peer network. The emission is limited and amounts to 84 million coins. To date, more than 50 million units have been produced.

Main features of Litecoin

Well, first, let’s pay attention to the main advantages of this cryptocurrency:

  • Decentralization 

The blockchain on which the cryptocurrency is based assumes that all network participants are equal. That is, the system does not have a single center that is an intermediary: all operations are carried out directly between users;

  • Anonymity

All personal data of users who work in the Litecoin network are hidden;

Transparency. Even though personal information is hidden, the history of all transactions is stored in the blockchain itself and cannot be deleted or changed;

  • Availability 

You can use this monetary system at any time and anywhere – regardless of your country of residence. The only condition is the presence of an Internet connection;

  • Deflation 

Since it is only possible to mine a certain amount of coins, there will be no opportunity to mine coins at a certain point. This means that the value of Litecoin will naturally grow since, with an increase in demand, there will be no option for generating new coins;

  • Open-source 

The developers of the coin offer everyone to use the Litecoin code and, following the MIT / X11 license, users can change and transform the code for any personal projects.

You can say that similar benefits can be found with Bitcoin. However, Litecoin has several advantages over its predecessor:

  • Large emission 

The number of Litecoin coins that can be mined is 80 million. Moreover, ¾ of the total volume will be mined by 2020;

  • Block formation speed 

To create a new Litecoin block (with 25 coins in it), you need to spend only 2.5 minutes (in the Bitcoin network, for example, it will take 4 times more time to generate a new block);

  • Security of transactions 

Due to the faster transfer speed, all Litecoin transactions are very difficult to track. This avoids hacker attacks.

Benefits

Thanks to the use of the new script algorithm, the block processing speed have significantly increased. The average block picking speed is about 2.5 minutes. This is several times higher than that of Bitcoin. This can significantly reduce the time of the transaction. Using LTC is much more convenient for both sellers and buyers. The p2p technology used makes it possible to perform cross-chain operations, i.e., transactions using different digital currencies.

LTC maintains the complete anonymity of transactions, which makes this digital currency attractive to users.

The decentralized principle completely excludes the possibility of regulation and management of this cryptocurrency, by individuals or government agencies.

Disadvantages

All the disadvantages inherent in LTC apply to other cryptocurrencies. Today, the main drawback is the uncertainty of the status and the absence of rules for the circulation and use of cryptocurrencies, enshrined at the legislative level of different countries. This is holding back the growth in popularity and capitalization since there is still a risk of a ban on the use of cryptocurrency. Until this issue is resolved, one should not wait for stability in this market.

High volatility, despite the possibility of making good money on a change in the exchange rate, still plays not in favor of Litecoin.

How can you make money on Litecoin?

Now let’s talk about the options for making money on Litecoins. There are three main options:

  • Start trading assets. To do this, you can use many crypto-exchanges – by carrying out profitable transactions for the purchase and sale of coins, you can make good money;
  • You can also make a long-term investment. In this case, you will need to buy a large number of coins and wait for their price to increase in the future. This option is simpler – after all, you do not have to make dozens of transactions on the exchange every day;
  • Another option for making money on Litecoin is to start applying it to your business. You can improve any monetary system by working with the developed blockchain. Or there is an option to use the source code of Litecoin to develop your project.