In 2017 the Litecoin platform made noteworthy price gains after SegWit was successfully integrated. Charlie Lee, Litecoin founder, recently announced that a mobile wallet– Abra– will be using Smart contracts that run on the Litecoin network.

The Evolution of Litecoin’s Network

At the start of 2017, Litecoin’s platform was valued at $5, and on 19th of December they reached their record value of $366 and currently, although it dropped like the rest of the market, it’s trading at $161. This signifies a 3000% growth in the past 15 months. This increase has been linked to the return of Charlie Lee to the “Litecoin Foundation”.

Before Lee returned to Litecoin’s network, which was standing still in development, he was working as Director of Engineering at Coinbase. Just after his return, the network began evolving at a rapid pace.

Litecoin is incredibly fast, with 2.5 minutes block times, while Bitcoin’s block time is 10 minutes and also the mining fees are low in comparison to Bitcoin. So when it comes to its advantages, Litecoin has a greater number when compared to Bitcoin, especially when used as a payment system.

After Bitcoin, Litecoin is thought to be the most secure network, due to the power of its network and its plentiful hash power.

Since SegWit was activated in both the Litecoin Network and Bitcoin, it improved the collaboration between the two of them. Also the blockchain –based Lightning network, can be used in both Litecoin(LTC) and Bitcoin. But for the Lightening newtor to function properly, SegWit must be enabled. Together, the SegWit and Lightning network, payments become less costly, faster and more efficient.

Litecoin’s Integration in Abra

In about 2 weeks, smart contracts will be used by Abra on Litecoin’s network. Litecoin’s network was preferred over Bitcoin Cash and other crypto- oriented platforms, because it has a more stable price and a more secure network. The aim is to make the Abra app protocol run on Litecoin’s network as a smart contract and allow other currencies to be traded in the app.

20 cryptocurrencies and 50 fiat currencies can be used on the Abra app. The app enables users to trade all combinations of pairs which involve crypto and fiat currencies. But the app doesn’t let users directly purchase a particular cryptocurrency. It only allows you to invest in LTC and after that does it give you access to other cryptocurrencies, by using the smart contract integrated on Abra.

So, you first invest on LTC, then it will block the price of the LTC at the market price of the coin you want to trade. If that coin increases in value, you can sign and collect the profits on LTC to your wallet. So you technically never own the coin with which you trade, you just get contact with the price fluctuations in relation to that coin.

Why Litecoin’s Network Was Chosen

Litecoin is believed to be less secure than Bitcoin, but it offers the user other benefits like lower costs and faster transactions.

Abra also picked out Litecoin’s network over Bitcoin Cash or any other crypto networks due to their security and scalability. But also, because this network is not prone to such sudden changes in value and transaction fees, which is a significant factor in keeping a crypto-platform reliable.

“Abra chose Litecoin over Bitcoin Cash because of Litecoin’s better security and its adherence to Bitcoin’s scalability roadmap,” tweeted Charlie Lee.