Litecoin Explained

Currency Name:Litecoin
Image 1:6 Full Logo S-2.png
Image Title 1:Official Litecoin logo
Subunit Name 1:lites,[1] millilitecoin, mŁ
Subunit Name 2:microlitecoins, photons, μŁ
Subunit Name 3:litoshis
Plural:Litecoins
Symbol:Ł
Ticker Symbol:LTC
Precision:10−8
Initial Release Version:0.1.0
Latest Release Version:0.21.2.2[2]
Status:Active
Forked From:Bitcoin
Programming Languages:C++
Operating System:Windows, OS X, Linux, Android
Author:Charlie Lee
Developer:Litecoin Core Development Team
Source Model:Open source
License:MIT License
Hash Function:scrypt
Circulating Supply:Ł73,342,352 (12 July 2023)
Supply Limit:Ł84,000,000
Issuing Authority:decentralized, block reward
Timestamping:Proof-of-work
Block Time:2.5 minutes
Block Reward:Ł6.25 (as of August, 2 2023), (halved approximately every four years)
Exchange Rate:US$105 (July 2023)

Litecoin (Abbreviation: LTC; sign: Ł) is a decentralized peer-to-peer cryptocurrency and open-source software project released under the MIT/X11 license. Inspired by Bitcoin, Litecoin was among the earliest altcoins, starting in October 2011.[3] [4] In technical details, the Litecoin main chain shares a slightly modified Bitcoin codebase. The practical effects of those codebase differences are lower transaction fees,[5] faster transaction confirmations, and faster mining difficulty retargeting. Due to its underlying similarities to Bitcoin, Litecoin has historically been referred to as the "silver to Bitcoin's gold."[6] [7] [8] In 2022, Litecoin added optional privacy features via soft fork through the MWEB (MimbleWimble extension block) upgrade.[9]

Design

Units and divisibility

Currency codes for representing litecoin is LTC. Its Unicode character is Ł.

One litecoin is divisible to eight decimal places. Units for smaller amounts of litecoin are:

History

Pre-Litecoin

By 2011, Bitcoin mining was largely performed by GPUs.[10] This raised concern in some users that mining now had a high barrier to entry, and that CPU resources were becoming obsolete and worthless for mining. Using code from Bitcoin, a new alternative currency was created called Tenebrix (TBX). Tenebrix replaced the SHA-256 rounds in Bitcoin's mining algorithm with the scrypt function,[11] which had been specifically designed in 2009 to be expensive to accelerate with FPGA or ASIC chips.[12] This would allow Tenebrix to have been "GPU-resistant", and utilize the available CPU resources from bitcoin miners. Tenebrix itself was a successor project to an earlier cryptocurrency which replaced Bitcoin's issuance schedule with a constant block reward (thus creating an unlimited money supply). However, the developers included a clause in the code that would allow them to claim 7.7 million TBX for themselves at no cost, which was criticized by users.[13]

To address this, Charlie Lee, a Google employee who would later become engineering director at Coinbase,[14] created an alternative version of Tenebrix called Fairbrix (FBX). Litecoin inherits the scrypt mining algorithm from Fairbrix, but returns to the limited money supply of Bitcoin, with other changes.

Creation and launch

Lee released Litecoin via an open-source client on GitHub on October 7, 2011.[15] The Litecoin network went live on October 13, 2011.

Litecoin was a source code fork of the Bitcoin Core client, originally differing by having a decreased block generation time (2.5 minutes), increased maximum number of coins, different hashing algorithm (scrypt, instead of SHA-256), faster difficulty retarget, and a slightly modified GUI.

2011–2016

After launch, the early growth of Litecoin was aided by its increasing exchange availability and liquidity on early exchanges such as BTC-e. During the month of November 2013, the aggregate value of Litecoin experienced massive growth which included a 100% leap within 24 hours.[16] [17]

In early 2014, Lee suggested merge mining (auxPOW) Dogecoin with Litecoin to the Dogecoin community at large. In September 2014, Dogecoin began merge-mining with Litecoin.[18]

2017–2021

In 2020, PayPal added the ability for users to purchase a derivative of Litecoin along with Bitcoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash which could not be withdrawn or spent as part of its Crypto feature.[19] [20]

In September 2021, a fake press release was published on GlobeNewswire announcing a partnership between Litecoin and Walmart. This caused the price of Litecoin to increase by around 30%, before the press release was revealed as a hoax.[21]

2022–present

In May 2022, MWEB (Mimblewimble Extension Blocks) upgrade was activated on the Litecoin network as a soft fork. This upgrade provides users with the option of sending confidential Litecoin transactions, in which the amount being sent is only known between the sender and receiver.[22]

In June 2022, PayPal added the ability for users to transfer Litecoin along with Bitcoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash between PayPal to other wallets and exchanges.[23]

Differences from Bitcoin

Litecoin is different in some ways from Bitcoin:

Third party vendors providing point of sale infrastructure for Litecoin include BitPay.[28]

See also

Notes and References

  1. renaming of mLTC/μLTC to lites/photons https://github.com/litecoin-project/litecoin/pull/375
  2. Web site: Litecoin v0.21.2.2 . 2 March 2023 . litecoin.org . 2024-03-05.
  3. Ex-Googler Gives the World a Better Bitcoin. WIRED. 2017-10-25. en-US. 2018-07-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20180709221218/https://www.wired.com/2013/08/litecoin/. live.
  4. Gibbs . Toby . Yordchim . Suwaree . 2014 . Thai Perception on Litecoin Value . International Journal of Social, Education, Economics and Management Engineering . 8 . 8 . 2589–2591 . 2022-07-14 . 2022-07-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220722110804/https://instructor.ssru.ac.th/suwaree/file.php/1/Thai-Perception-on-Litecoin-Value.pdf . live .
  5. Miglietti . Cynthia . Kubosova . Zdenka . Skulanova . Nicole . 20 May 2019 . Bitcoin, Litecoin, and the Euro: an annualized volatility analysis . Studies in Economics and Finance. 37 . 2 . 229–242 . 10.1108/SEF-02-2019-0050 . 199363476 .
  6. Mandjee . Tara . 2014 . Bitcoin, its legal classification and its regulatory framework. . Journal of Business & Securities Law . 15 . 2022-07-15 . 2022-07-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220715012410/https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/bussecul15&div=10&id=&page= . live .
  7. Jumaili . Mustafa Lateef Fadhil . Karim . Sulaiman M . 2021 . Comparison of two cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin and Litecoin . Journal of Physics: Conference Series . 1963 . 1 . 7. 10.1088/1742-6596/1963/1/012143 . 2021JPhCS1963a2143J . 236441485 . free .
  8. Ismail, Ashiana. "Permissioned blockchains for real world applications." PhD diss., 2020.
  9. Web site: Hake . Mark R. . February 14, 2022 . Litecoin Should See Broader Appeal With New Privacy Technology . July 14, 2022 . Nasdaq . July 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220715020408/https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/litecoin-should-see-broader-appeal-with-new-privacy-technology . live .
  10. Web site: Browne . Ryan . 2017-12-20 . Litecoin founder Charlie Lee says he's sold all his holdings in the cryptocurrency . 2024-02-01 . CNBC . en . 2021-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210202150717/https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/20/litecoin-founder-charlie-lee-sells-his-holdings-in-the-cryptocurrency.html . live .
  11. Book: . May 5, 2015 . Handbook of Digital Currency: Bitcoin, Innovation, Financial Instruments, and Big Data . Elsevier Science . 9780128023518 . Lee . David.
  12. Web site: scrypt page on the Tarsnap website. 21 January 2014. 28 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190528073159/https://www.tarsnap.com/scrypt.html. live.
  13. Book: Deng, Robert H. . 3 August 2017. Handbook of Blockchain, Digital Finance, and Inclusion, Volume 1: Cryptocurrency, FinTech, InsurTech, and Regulation . United Kingdom . Elsevier Science . 9780128104422.
  14. News: Litecoin founder Charlie Lee has sold all of his LTC. TechCrunch. 2018-08-20. en-US. 2021-02-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20210221213913/https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/20/litecoin-charlie-lee-conflict-of-interest/. live.
  15. Book: Blockchain economics and financial market innovation: financial innovations in the digital age . 2019 . Springer . 978-3-030-25275-5 . Hacıoğlu . Ümit . Contributions to economics . Cham . 213.
  16. News: Litecoin value leaps 100% in a day as market cap passes $1bn. International Business Times, UK Edition. Alistair. Charlton. 2013-11-28. 2013-12-16. 2013-12-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20131203023044/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/525867/20131128/litcoin-value-leaps-100-percent-market-cap.htm. live.
  17. Book: Cizek, Jakub . Bitcoin as a leader of crypto-currencies: A predictability study . Charles University . 11 . 2024-02-01 . 2024-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240201223556/https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/64877/BPTX_2013_2_11230_0_387819_0_150032.pdf?sequence=1 . live .
  18. Web site: Murdock . Jason . 2021-04-14 . How to mine dogecoin as 129 billion tokens in circulation . 2022-07-13 . Newsweek . en . 2022-07-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220713132230/https://www.newsweek.com/dogecoin-how-mine-cryptocurrency-explained-129-billion-tokens-circulation-1583515 . live .
  19. BBC (2020) "PayPal allows Bitcoin and crypto spending", October 21. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54630283
  20. https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/crypto Crypto with PayPal is here
  21. Web site: 2021-09-13. Walmart denies tieup with litecoin, fake statement rattles cryptocurrency. 2021-09-13. Reuters. en. 2022-10-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20221015150302/https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/press-release-walmarts-litecoin-partnership-is-fake-cnbc-2021-09-13/. live.
  22. Web site: 2022-05-20 . MWEB Has Officially Activated . Litecoin Foundation . 2022-06-01 . 2022-05-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220526050915/https://www.litecoin.net/news/mweb-has-officially-activated . live .
  23. PAYPAL (2022) "PayPal Users Can Now Transfer, Send, and Receive Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin", June 21. https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2022-06-07-PayPal-Users-Can-Now-Transfer-Send-and-Receive-Bitcoin-Ethereum-Bitcoin-Cash-and-Litecoin
  24. News: Ian. Steadman. 2013-05-11. Wary of Bitcoin? A guide to some other cryptocurrencies. Ars Technica. 2014-01-19. 2014-01-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20140116040533/http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/05/wary-of-bitcoin-a-guide-to-some-other-cryptocurrencies/. live.
  25. Web site: Beyond Bitcoin: A Guide to the Most Promising Cryptocurrencies. Alec Liu. 29 November 2013. 25 April 2024. 13 June 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180613111615/https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/4x3ywn/beyond-bitcoin-a-guide-to-the-most-promising-cryptocurrencies. live.
  26. Web site: McGleenon . Brian . Why is this crypto token rising amid crash and FTX collapse? . Yahoo Finance . 7 December 2022 . 24 November 2022.
  27. Silveira . Adrián . Betarte . Gustavo . Cristiá . Maximiliano . Luna . Carlos . 2021-09-04 . A Formal Analysis of the Mimblewimble Cryptocurrency Protocol . Sensors . 21 . 17 . 5951 . 10.3390/s21175951 . 34502842 . 8434605 . 2104.00822 . 2021Senso..21.5951S . 1424-8220. free .
  28. Bitcoin's Dominance of Crypto Payments Is Starting to Erode . 2022-07-16 . Time . en . 2022-07-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220716025153/https://time.com/6139727/bitcoin-crypto-payments/ . live .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Litecoin".

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