We are going to talk about the two most prominent cryptocurrencies- Ethereum (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC)-which are being known as the top cryptocurrencies. Litecoin has been in the crypto space much longer than Ethereum, but Ethereum has evolved to be the better performing altcoin as it is the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world, with an active community and advanced developers.

Let us check the differences between Ethereum and Litecoin

#1 Purpose

Litecoin and Ethereum have a very different purpose. Litecoin is a fork of Bitcoin, which was visualized as peer-to-peer digital cash. Litecoin, as the name suggests, is a lighter version of Bitcoin with updated technology- like lower transaction fees and faster transactions. The purpose of Litecoin is, therefore, faster and cheaper digital payments.

The purpose of Ethereum, on the other hand, is not merely a payment system, but ushered in the area of Blockchain 2.0, through the use of smart contracts. By using self-executing contracts with codes, Ethereum enables the users to develop certain decentralized applications (dApp) with the help of blockchain technology, that can operate without any middlemen.

#2 Mining

Mining is the process of creating blocks by the completion of complex calculations, and get rewarded for validating the network. In the case of Litecoin, it is mined through Proof of Work (PoW) mining system- where lots of miners use their computing powers to solve cryptographic problems. The first one to solve gets block rewards, which happens to be 1 LTC, in this case.

Ethereum also followed Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, but lately, it's working towards transitioning towards the Proof of Stake (PoS) process. In PoS, there are no miners but validators, who lock up some of the funds, and when they validate new blocks, they get paid in crypto.

When they discover a new block, they “bet” on it to be added to the network. If the block gets added, the validators who bet on that block, get block rewards proportionate to their betting amount. Although PoS is environment-friendly, it is predominantly new to the crypto space as compared to PoW, which happened to have shown resilience to difficult networks like Bitcoin and Litecoin.

#3 Transaction Fees

Litecoin has the upper hand when it comes to comparing the transaction fees with Ethereum, as Litecoin’s average transaction fee is lesser than that of Ethereum. ETH became quite famous due to the ICO boom in 2017. The default minimum Litecoin transaction fee is 0.001 LTC, and the Ethereum transaction fee has increased to $0.39 from $0.11.

#4 Transaction Speed

Ethereum beat Litecoin when it comes to transaction speed. The average block time (time required for a new block creation) is about 15 seconds for Ethereum, and in the case of Litecoin, its 2.5 minutes, which is 8.5X more than Ethereum.

#5 Hash Rate

One of the unpopular security threats is the 51% attack- where a miner or a group of miners gain control of more than 50% of the mining power or the network’s hash rate. Once the malicious attacker gets this power, they can harm the network in whatever way they want, like reversing transactions or preventing new transactions from getting validated.

To secure the network from such attackers, a crypto network must have a high hash rate. Then it would make it nearly impossible for any intruders to gain control of 51%of the hash rate, as it involves investing in expensive mining equipment. Ethereum and Litecoin have a more or less high hash rate, which is pretty equal, which makes the probability of a 51% very unlikely. Ethereum has a hash rate of 174.898 Terahash, and Litecoin has a hash rate of 127.9655 Terahash.

FAQs on Litecoin Vs Ethereum

Should I buy Ethereum or Litecoin?

Ethereum and Litecoin- both are esteemed cryptocurrencies having great potential. But before investing in any of them, you must do some thorough research on their past trends, the highest volume in the past 24 hours, etc.

Is Etherum better than Litecoin?

Ethereum is higher in terms of market capitalization, but that doesn’t necessarily mean its better. Both of them have a different set of objectives, which they are excellent at.

Is Litecoin faster than Ethereum?

No, Ethereum is faster than Litecoin, as the block time is 8X higher than that of Litecoin, i.e., 15 seconds.

Is Litecoin a good investment?

Litecoin has been performing well, but before taking any investment-related decisions, you need to go through proper research on Litecoin.

Is Ethereum a good investment?

Ethereum has been performing well, but before taking any investment-related decisions, you need to go through proper research on Ethereum.

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