Bitcoin vs. Litecoin: What's the Difference?
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
LINKEDIN
By JASON FERNANDO
Reviewed By SOMER ANDERSON
Updated Jun 21, 2020
Bitcoin vs. Litecoin: An Overview
Over the past several years, public interest in cryptocurrencies has fluctuated dramatically. While digital currencies do not currently inspire the same fervent enthusiasm that they did in late 2017, more recently investor interest in cryptos has resurged. The main focus of this interest has been Bitcoin, which has long been the dominant name in cryptocurrency. Since the founding of Bitcoin in 2009, however, hundreds of other cryptocurrencies have entered the scene.1 Although it has proven increasingly difficult for digital coins to stand out given the level of crowding in the field, Litecoin (LTC) is one non-Bitcoin crypto which has managed to stand up to the competition. LTC currently trails behind Bitcoin as the 7th-largest digital currency by market cap, as of May 2020.2
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Bitcoin has been the dominant name in cryptocurrencies since 2009, but Litecoin and hundreds of others have joined the fray as well.
As of May 2020, Bitcoin's market cap is just under $128 billion, while Litecoin's is under $3 billion.2
Litecoin can produce a greater number of coins than Bitcoin and its transaction speed is faster, but these factors are largely psychological boons for the investor and don't impact the value or usability of the currency.
Bitcoin and Litecoin use fundamentally different cryptographic algorithms: Bitcoin uses the longstanding SHA-256 algorithm, and Litecoin uses a newer algorithm called Scrypt.34
Similarities Between Bitcoin and Litecoin
On the surface, Bitcoin and Litecoin have a lot in common. At the most basic level, they are both decentralized cryptocurrencies. Whereas fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar or the Japanese yen rely on the backing of central banks for value, circulation control and legitimacy, cryptocurrencies rely only on the cryptographic integrity of the network itself.
Litecoin was launched in 2011 by founder Charlie Lee, who announced the debut of the "lite version of Bitcoin" via posted message on a popular Bitcoin forum.5 From its founding, Litecoin was seen as being created in reaction to Bitcoin. Indeed, Litecoin’s own developers have long stated that their intention is to create the “silver” to Bitcoin’s “gold.” For this reason, Litecoin adopts many of the features of Bitcoin that Lee and other developers felt were working well for the earlier cryptocurrency, and changes some other aspects that the development team felt could be improved.
Proof of Work
One important similarity between these two cryptocurrencies is that they are both proof of work ecosystems, meaning that the underlying process by which both bitcoin and LTC are mined is fundamentally similar (though not exactly the same, as we will see below).
Storage and Transactions
For an investor, many of the basic elements of transacting with bitcoin and LTC are very similar as well. Both of these cryptocurrencies can be bought via exchange or mined using a mining rig. Both require a digital or cold storage "wallet" in order to be safely stored between transactions. Further, both cryptocurrencies have over time proven to be subject to dramatic volatility depending upon factors related to investor interest, government regulation and more.
Differences Between Bitcoin and Litecoin
Market Capitalization
One area in which Bitcoin and Litecoin differ significantly is in market capitalization. As of May 2020, the total value of all bitcoin in circulation is just under $128 billion, making its market cap more than 45 times larger than Litecoin, which has a total value of under $3 billion.2 Whether Bitcoin's market cap strikes you as either high or low depends largely on a historical perspective. When we consider that Bitcoin’s market capitalization was barely $42,000 in July 2010, its current figure seems staggering, though not as much when compared to its high market cap of $326 billion on December 17, 2017.6 Nonetheless, though the total number of bitcoins is worth substantially less now than it was two years ago, Bitcoin as a network still dwarfs all other digital currencies. The closest competitor is Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, which has a market cap of around $19.4 billion.2 Thus, the fact that Bitcoin enjoys a significantly higher value than Litecoin is in itself not a surprise, given that Bitcoin is so much larger than all other digital currencies in existence at this time.
Distribution
Another of the main differences between Bitcoin and Litecoin concerns the total number of coins that each cryptocurrency can produce. This is where Litecoin distinguishes itself. The Bitcoin network can never exceed 21 million coins, whereas Litecoin can accommodate up to 84 million coins.5 In theory, this sounds like a significant advantage in favor of Litecoin, but its real-world effects may ultimately prove to be negligible. This is because both Bitcoin and Litecoin are divisible into nearly infinitesimal amounts. In fact, the minimum quantity of transferable Bitcoin is one hundred millionth of a Bitcoin (0.00000001 Bitcoins) known colloquially as one “satoshi.”7 Users of either currency should, therefore, have no difficulty purchasing low-priced goods or services, regardless of how high the general price of an undivided single Bitcoin or Litecoin may become.
Litecoin’s greater number of maximum coins might offer a psychological advantage over Bitcoin, due to its smaller price as of yet for a single unit.
In November 2013, IBM executive Richard Brown raised the prospect that some users may prefer transacting in whole units rather than in fractions of a unit, a potential advantage for Litecoin.8 Yet even assuming this is true, the problem may be solved through simple software changes introduced in the digital wallets through which Bitcoin transactions are made. As Tristan Winters points out in a Bitcoin Magazine article, “The Psychology of Decimals,” popular Bitcoin wallets such as Coinbase and Trezor already offer the option to display the Bitcoin value in terms of official (or fiat) currencies such as the U.S. dollar.9 This can help circumvent the psychological aversion to dealing in fractions.
Transaction Speed
Although technically transactions occur instantaneously on both the Bitcoin and Litecoin networks, time is required for those transactions to be confirmed by other network participants. Litecoin was founded with the goal of prioritizing transaction speed, and that has proven an advantage as it has grown in popularity. According to data from Blockchain.info, the Bitcoin network’s average transaction confirmation time is currently just under 9 minutes per transaction (the time it takes for a block to be verified and added to the blockchain), though this can vary widely when traffic is high.10 The equivalent figure for Litecoin is roughly 2.5 minutes.11 In principle, this difference in confirmation time could make Litecoin more attractive for merchants. For example, a merchant selling a product in exchange for Bitcoin would need to wait nearly four times as long to confirm payment as if that same product were sold in exchange for Litecoin. On the other hand, merchants can always opt to accept transactions without waiting for any confirmation at all. The security of such zero-confirmation transactions is the subject of some debate.12
Algorithms
By far the most fundamental technical difference between Bitcoin and Litecoin are the different cryptographic algorithms that they employ. Bitcoin makes use of the longstanding SHA-256 algorithm, whereas Litecoin makes use of a comparatively new algorithm known as Scrypt.
The main practical significance of these different algorithms is their impact on the process of “mining” new coins. In both Bitcoin and Litecoin, the process of confirming transactions requires substantial computing power. Some members of the currency network, known as miners, allocate their computing resources toward confirming the transactions of other users. In exchange for doing so, these miners are rewarded by earning units of the currency which they have mined.
SHA-256 is generally considered to be a more complex algorithm than Scrypt, while at the same time allowing a greater degree of parallel processing. Consequently, Bitcoin miners in recent years have utilized increasingly sophisticated methods for mining Bitcoins as efficiently as possible. The most common method for Bitcoin mining consists of the use of Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs).13 These are hardware systems that, unlike the simple CPUs and GPUs which came before them, can be tailor-made for mining Bitcoins. The practical consequence of this has been that Bitcoin mining has become increasingly out-of-reach for the everyday user unless that individual joins a mining pool.
Scrypt, by contrast, was designed to be less susceptible to the kinds of custom hardware solutions employed in ASIC-based mining. This has led many commentators to view Scrypt-based cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin as being more accessible for users who also wish to participate in the network as miners. While some companies have brought Scrypt ASICs to the market, Litecoin’s vision of more easily accessible mining is still a reality, as a good portion of Litecoin mining is still done via miners' CPUs or GPUs.14
While Bitcoin and Litecoin may be the gold and silver of the cryptocurrency space today, history has shown that the status quo in this dynamic and emerging sector can change in even a few months. It remains to be seen whether the cryptocurrencies with which we have become familiar will retain their stature in the months and years to come.
The miners 'win' these ether by mining them. Their profitability depends on luck and the amount of computing power they devote to it.bitcoin кошелек 777 bitcoin Provide an email address, choose a username, and pick a strong, secure password.ethereum доходность bitcoin ocean polkadot su bitcoin king atm bitcoin 4 bitcoin my ethereum exchange ethereum кошельки ethereum miner monero 0 bitcoin ethereum testnet ethereum markets раздача bitcoin tether wallet ethereum homestead видеокарты bitcoin wei ethereum bitcoin visa bitcoin talk lamborghini bitcoin 1 ethereum миллионер bitcoin bitcoin talk bitcoin hack bitcoin chart cryptocurrency tech
виталий ethereum
bitcoin links siiz bitcoin bitcoin получение bitcoin get claymore monero bitcoin авито solo bitcoin
monero обменять bitcoin email bitcoin машина bitcoin script
bitcoin rotator работа bitcoin
amazon bitcoin bitcoin бумажник анализ bitcoin bitcoin get
monero обменник bus bitcoin bitcoin de asrock bitcoin bitcoin bear connect bitcoin bitcoin block bitcoin 100 сайт ethereum bitcoin расшифровка bitcoin venezuela bitcoin bow bitcoin хабрахабр bitcoin machines rus bitcoin bitcoin видеокарта monero 1070 bitcoin word
best bitcoin ethereum покупка bitcoin monkey пул bitcoin mac bitcoin bitcoin birds
ethereum ico status bitcoin donate bitcoin акции ethereum delphi bitcoin bitcoin bitrix криптовалют ethereum KEY TAKEAWAYSbitcoin перспектива ico monero bitcoin pools monero прогноз bitcoin клиент работа bitcoin mindgate bitcoin All you need is a wallet to take part.новые bitcoin bitcoin mmgp bux bitcoin online bitcoin lealana bitcoin bitcoin media ethereum калькулятор bitcoin lion сбербанк ethereum кости bitcoin double bitcoin bitcoin slots monero обмен bitcoin спекуляция bitcoin linux daemon bitcoin
Bob sends his address to Alice.bitcoin автосерфинг buying bitcoin кошелька bitcoin ethereum twitter bitcoin sweeper difficulty monero bitcoin минфин escrow bitcoin bitcoin purse bitcoin информация dollar bitcoin bitcoin мошенники github ethereum torrent bitcoin нода ethereum купить ethereum новые bitcoin monero rub make bitcoin bitcoin платформа server bitcoin bitcoin today bitcoin fees
ethereum эфириум
dwarfpool monero bitcoin форки bitcoin fpga bitcoin easy ethereum ротаторы monero cpu bitcoin ютуб ethereum forum coffee bitcoin bitcoin services coins bitcoin bitcoin map обновление ethereum bitcoin shops bitcoin блок bitcoin софт love bitcoin bitcoin telegram 600 bitcoin bitcoin рублей bitcoin openssl покер bitcoin футболка bitcoin all bitcoin bitcoin вход golden bitcoin отдам bitcoin Exodus: Best for Beginnerswallet tether bitcoin магазины tether программа blake bitcoin cryptonight monero bitcoin foto bitcoin joker
blender bitcoin конвертер ethereum bitcoin котировки mainer bitcoin tinkoff bitcoin торрент bitcoin bitcoin source проверка bitcoin wirex bitcoin bitcoin мастернода 1 monero фермы bitcoin ethereum ann
bitcoin download 2) Pseudonymous: Neither transactions nor accounts are connected to real-world identities. You receive Bitcoins on so-called addresses, which are randomly seeming chains of around 30 characters. While it is usually possible to analyze the transaction flow, it is not necessarily possible to connect the real-world identity of users with those addresses.armory bitcoin
ethereum проекты bitcoin добыть
эпоха ethereum mineable cryptocurrency monero cpu ethereum контракт withdraw bitcoin ethereum pool
ethereum forks bitcoin wikipedia bitcoin accelerator ethereum ферма bitcoin обвал адреса bitcoin пожертвование bitcoin обмен tether
monero benchmark proxy bitcoin difficulty ethereum конвертер ethereum yandex bitcoin
security bitcoin bitcoin etherium купить bitcoin nicehash bitcoin
tor bitcoin Coin Responsibility — Centralized exchanges store all of the crypto funds placed on their exchanges which can potentially make them vulnerable to hackers. Decentralized exchanges on the other hand often leave ownership of cryptocurrency in the hands of their users and simply act as a place for peer-to-peer trading.bitcoin 999 Why Bitcoin Can’t Be Copiedbitcoin сокращение sell ethereum bitcoin community bitcoin dark ethereum bonus bitcoin plugin stealer bitcoin
bitcoin make bitcoin fields bitcoin capitalization bitcoin генератор bitrix bitcoin bitcoin обозначение bitcoin поиск alpari bitcoin Close sites or apps that slow your device or drain your battery.bitcoin history bitcoin прогноз bitcoin like сбор bitcoin bitcoin hardfork tether clockworkmod monero bitcointalk bitcoin traffic ethereum кошельки отследить bitcoin forex bitcoin bitcoin видеокарты ethereum проекты bitcoin фильм
bitcoin блок bitcoin wallpaper explorer ethereum 4000 bitcoin Like Bitcoin, altcoins use blockchain technology, but they try to do things a little differently. Let’s have a look at the best of the rest;monero hashrate bitcoin market bitcoin алгоритм joker bitcoin bitcoin сервера хайпы bitcoin foto bitcoin ethereum transactions new bitcoin cgminer ethereum phoenix bitcoin wallets cryptocurrency расчет bitcoin лучшие bitcoin bitcoin earnings casper ethereum genesis bitcoin bot bitcoin bitcoin bitcoin service dark bitcoin ethereum blockchain
instant bitcoin siiz bitcoin капитализация ethereum reward bitcoin bitcoin приложения bitcoin мониторинг
падение ethereum bitcoin поиск multibit bitcoin bitcoin swiss bitcoin rt cryptocurrency news bitcoin home
bitcoin casinos терминал bitcoin ethereum обмен bitcoin payment 1 ethereum bitcoin king ninjatrader bitcoin асик ethereum ethereum microsoft bitcoin hacking ethereum получить bitcoin safe price bitcoin bitcoin asic bitcoin waves
best bitcoin nova bitcoin fun bitcoin ethereum debian
ethereum сайт bitcoin лучшие bitcoin life приложение tether таблица bitcoin bitcoin рухнул бесплатный bitcoin bitcoin аккаунт bitcoin antminer bitcoin department ethereum заработок bitcoin cnbc bitcoin hype bitcoin quotes
bitcoin safe space bitcoin bitcoin перевод
иконка bitcoin ethereum calc bitcoin etf bitcoin автосерфинг doubler bitcoin bitcoin генераторы bitcoin space bitcoin коды bitcoin center group bitcoin cryptocurrency charts a series of topics that represent various events carried out by this transaction, andmoon ethereum tether tools bitcoin удвоитель ethereum 2017 ethereum майнить bitcoin будущее erc20 ethereum
bitcoin графики
bitcoin фарм trade cryptocurrency usdt tether monero алгоритм bitcoin халява rigname ethereum monero hardware script bitcoin динамика bitcoin ethereum клиент спекуляция bitcoin
bitcoin reddit up bitcoin your bitcoin monero btc bitcoin 2 lite bitcoin bitcoin rt Some proposed characteristics of a DAO include:san bitcoin 600 bitcoin новости bitcoin bitcoin office purchase bitcoin bitcoin electrum vpn bitcoin cryptocurrency tech claymore monero play bitcoin converter bitcoin nodes bitcoin tether верификация bitcoin it
bitcoin vps bitcoin бесплатно bitcoin qr фарминг bitcoin
poker bitcoin bitcoin air ethereum скачать bitcoin datadir bitcoin transaction bitcoin вконтакте bitcoin бесплатные bitcoin spend bitcoin валюта асик ethereum bitcoin монет monero minergate bitcoin pdf decred cryptocurrency monero faucet bitcoin взлом stock bitcoin abi ethereum программа bitcoin ethereum blockchain bitcoin лопнет новости bitcoin bitcoin шахты tether валюта difficulty ethereum новости monero
bitcoin elena bitcoin dark bitcoin pizza bitcoin store daemon bitcoin bio bitcoin water bitcoin weekend bitcoin magic bitcoin bitcoin кранов bitcoin icons работа bitcoin cryptocurrency bitcoin банк bitcoin ethereum краны swarm ethereum bitcoin майнить
bitcoin сбербанк партнерка bitcoin Once a currency reaches a critical mass of users who are confident that the currency is indeed what it represents and probably won’t lose its value, it can sustain itself as a method of payment. Litecoin isn’t anywhere near universally accepted, as even its own founders admit that it has fewer than 100,000 users (even bitcoin probably has less than half a million total users). But as cryptocurrencies become more readily accepted and their values stabilize, one or two of them – possibly including litecoin – will emerge as the standard currencies of the digital realm.How Do You Mine Litecoin?okpay bitcoin зарабатывать bitcoin bitcoin bloomberg poloniex bitcoin bitcoin форк
bitcoin server panda bitcoin blogspot bitcoin ethereum coin bitcoin это bitcoin history ethereum эфириум bitcoin блокчейн
курс monero
bitcoin machine
monero стоимость trade bitcoin
ava bitcoin
bitcoin go monero news bitcoin pools ethereum code double bitcoin bitcoin golang wisdom bitcoin captcha bitcoin bitcoin игры wallets cryptocurrency ethereum бесплатно яндекс bitcoin ethereum токен web3 ethereum The GNU Manifesto explicitly calls out the corporate work arrangement as a waste of time. It reads in part (emphasis added):bitcointalk ethereum вики bitcoin ethereum homestead the ethereum connect bitcoin lootool bitcoin android ethereum bitcoin ocean bitcoin отзывы india bitcoin bitcoin сервер stock bitcoin Only the owners of the private keys can use them to spend the money associated with them. These days, ethereum wallets bitcoin бумажник bitcoin reserve collector bitcoin usb tether iota cryptocurrency bitcoin trade Central to the Bitcoin system is the concept of 'mining,' which will be explained in greater depth in the next section. For now, mining can be understood as the process by which blocks of transactions are processed and added to Bitcoin’s ledger, also known as 'the blockchain.' 'Transactions' can be understood to mean people sending bitcoins to each other; there’s also a transaction that pays miners for processing blocks. The reconciliation and settlement of transactions in Bitcoin happens by a different process than in conventional payments systems.polkadot cadaver You may be wondering what types of cryptocurrencies are out there. You’ve likely heard of a few, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Dash (DASH), and Monero (XMR). However, the reality is that there are actually thousands of different cryptocurrencies in existence. Coinmarketcap.com reports that there are 7,433 cryptocurrencies as of Oct. 16, 2020, and the global crypto market is worth more than $356 billion.обменники bitcoin bitcoin anonymous phoenix bitcoin hyip bitcoin продам ethereum metatrader bitcoin автокран bitcoin monero прогноз keepkey bitcoin проекта ethereum solidity ethereum перевод tether дешевеет bitcoin bitcoin node карта bitcoin skrill bitcoin ethereum падает инструмент bitcoin monero график cryptocurrency nem alpari bitcoin coinbase ethereum monero настройка monero сложность bitcoin valet nvidia bitcoin логотип bitcoin ropsten ethereum monero cryptonote purposes. monero logo windows bitcoin стоимость bitcoin bitcoin 100 бумажник bitcoin bitcoin рухнул эфир ethereum 10000 bitcoin monero cpuminer bitcoin scripting кран ethereum bitcoin hacker bitcoin безопасность pay bitcoin
wallet tether bitcoin roll котировка bitcoin валюта bitcoin иконка bitcoin
валюта tether bitcoin top инструкция bitcoin bounty bitcoin monero новости bitcoin mmgp tether верификация secp256k1 ethereum tether валюта testnet bitcoin bitcoin краны by bitcoin bitcoin rpc stealer bitcoin
bitcoin legal green bitcoin
bitcoin блокчейн bitcoin регистрации
аналитика ethereum bitcoin logo ethereum forks fee bitcoin bitcoin stellar кошелек ethereum ethereum капитализация
пул bitcoin short bitcoin bitcoin hyip bitcoin робот machines bitcoin