- Litecoin has controlled to live on market crashes and is able to end one of the strongest players in the crypto world.
- It has the advantages of lower fees and transaction execution time but struggles to distinguish itself from other altcoins and Bitcoin.
- Looking at contemporary marketplace traits, short-term and long-term prices are expected to show positive growth.
Charlie Lee, an MIT graduate who formerly served as a Google engineer founded Litecoin in 2011. Litecoin has been referred to as the silver to bitcoin’s gold. It is based on an open-source global payment network. No central authority controls Litecoin.
Litecoin is a peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency. It could be very much like Bitcoin, but it differentiates iteslf from the Bitcoin protocol in terms of the hashing algorithm used and its maximum supply. Litecoin uses a proof-of-work mining algorithm with memory-intensive Scrypt. It allows consumer-grade hardware, such as a GPU, to mine those coins.
Differences between Litecoin and Bitcoin
Despite having many similarities, the two cryptocurrencies are different in many ways:
Time in discovering blocks and security: On average, the Litecoin blockchain takes 2.5 minutes to discover a block, while Bitcoin takes 10 minutes. This ensures a higher volume of faster transactions. A reduction in time does not reduce the security of the transaction because the security of a transaction is determined by its hashrate. It is a technical unit of measurement that shows the network’s activity and the computing power that is actually allocated to run the blockchain.
Token limit: The maximum token limit of Bitcoin is 21 million, while Litecoin has a maximum token limit of 84 million which is four times than Bitcoin.
Algorithm: Bitcoin uses the SHA-256 algorithm, while Litecoin uses Scrypt.
Development of Litecoin
Following its launch on October 13, 2011, Litecoin faced similar challenges to Bitcoin in establishing itself as a digital currency. These challenges include high volatility with huge changes in price in both directions. Apart from these, Litecoin also faced challenges in creating a brand name for itself.
Before 2014, the main objective of altcoins was to replicate the success of Bitcoin with improvements, such as a reduction in the average time to discover a new block or transaction fees. Most of these projects failed to outperform Bitcoin and no longer exist. However, Litecoin managed to sustain itself as a major altcoin.
Since April 2017, the 111 North Bridge Road Singapore Foundation has promoted Litecoin. As a result, the exchange rate for Litecoin was included in the Litecoin Bloomberg Terminal. Apart from these, Litecoin has also been included in the Google tool for currency conversion. It has allowed fans of the American football team, the Miami Dolphins, to shop fore tickets in Litecoin (LTC). It is an example of a real-world usage of Litecoin. After that, Litecoin became the reputable cryptocurrency of the Miami Dolphins in 2019.
Litecoin is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies and has survived the 2018 crash in the crypto market.
Advantages of Litecoin
- Litecoin is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies and has been present in the market since 2011. It is one among the major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum.
- Most of the buying and selling platforms provide Litecoin and have an lively community.
- Since its inception, its blockchain has been operating without any major problems.
- Litecoin has also improved itself to be a secure mode of transaction.
- Litecoin offers lower transaction fees in comparison to Bitcoin.
Disadvantages of Litecoin
Litecoin struggles to prove its utility and differentiate itself from Bitcoin.
- If Bitcoin improves the speed of transaction execution, then it will undermine Litecoin.
- Most of the new blockchain network uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, which is less energy-intensive and enables faster transactions.
- The development of Litecoin is slower than the latest projects launched in the Ethereum ecosystem and related to decentralized finance.
Buying of Litecoin
Litecoin, being one of the most famous cryptocurrencies, is available on the majority of trading platforms. Litecoins can be directly stored on integrated wallets linked to user accounts and secured with ledger technology. Apart from these, it can also be stored in personal and hardware wallets.
Price Prediction for Litecoin
Predicting exact prices for cryptocurrencies involves a high degree of uncertainty and is highly speculative due to volatility in the crypto space and various other unpredictable and uncontrollable factors. However, a general overview can be created based on the current and upcoming trends in the crypto world.
2024: The factors that are likely to influence the prices of Litecoin in 2024 are market sentiment, adoption rates, technological developments, and macroeconomic conditions. If Litecoin is able to maintain its relevance and real-world use cases apart from continuous moderate growth in the cryptocurrency market, medium growth is possible in the price of Litecoin. Litecoin is anticipated to trade within the range of $200 – $300. It is dependent on market dynamics.
2025: In 2025, Litecoin can experience further appreciation if it effectively manages to confirm and cope with the scalability challenge of Bitcoin. For 2025, it’s widely anticipated to trade in the price range of $250-$400 and is totally based on assumptions about positive market sentiments and continued user interest.
2030: Long-term predictions are tough to make as the long-term crypto market is subject to numerous changes and is highly skeptical. If Litecoin manages to remain a key participant, its value can increase significantly. A broader price range for this period would be $500 – $800 and is primarily based on various unpredictable factors.
Beyond 2030: Litecoin’s future prices will depend on its ability to adapt to all the technological advancements, regulatory changes, and global economic conditions. If Litecoin keeps pace with technological innovation and holds its position in the crypto market, prices can preserve the upward rise to a better level. However, it’s far essential for users to keep in mind the risky nature of the cryptocurrency marketplace before making any price predictions or investment decisions.
Conclusion
Litecoin, with its unique characteristics and challenges, remains a important player in the crypto marketplace. Since its development, Litecoin has evolved, adapting to arising situations and developing real-world use cases. It has survived various market crashes. The advantages presented by Litecoin increase sustainability and justify the growth of prices. The future of Litecoin depends on its ability to adapt, innovate, and differentiate from other crypto players. Other factors that drive the growth of Litecoin are market sentiment, adoption, and technological developments.