What Is Litecoin (LTC)?
Also known as: LTC, Litecoin
In short
Litecoin (LTC) is a Proof of Work-based peer-to-peer cryptocurrency created by Charlie Lee in 2011 from Bitcoin's source code, using a shorter block time and a different mining algorithm.
Litecoin has a structure very similar to Bitcoin's, but some parameters differ. The block time target is about 2.5 minutes; compared with Bitcoin's 10-minute target, this lets transactions receive confirmations faster. The maximum supply is capped at 84 million LTC, and the block reward is halved every 840,000 blocks, or roughly every four years (halving). Mining uses the Scrypt algorithm instead of SHA-256.
As one of the long-running cryptocurrencies, Litecoin has often been used for payments and for testing new technologies; for example, SegWit was activated on Litecoin before Bitcoin. The MWEB (MimbleWimble Extension Blocks) update, introduced in 2022, gave users the option of confidential transactions.
Although Scrypt was initially chosen to make mining easier with ordinary hardware, Scrypt-specific ASIC devices were eventually developed. Litecoin is among the networks that can be merge-mined with Dogecoin. Some exchanges have separately assessed MWEB's privacy features in terms of regulatory compliance.
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