Litecoin has caused such a stir in the crypto world that now everyone is wondering what it is and what the hype is all about. The most notable feature exciting everyone is the coin’s price, given that it has shown an almost 1,000% increase since its inception.

However, this is not the only attractive feature that Litecoin has to offer. This article will give you an overview of Litecoin. By the end, you should know what Litecoin is and where you can find it, store it, and even spend it.

What is Litecoin?

Litecoin is a peer-to-peer currency that allows payments to people all over the world at minimal costs. Litecoin came about as a result of Bitcoin and is more or less a Bitcoin clone

What’s so exciting about Litecoin?

As mentioned above, Litecoin is essentially a Bitcoin clone. So why is it that Litecoin is enjoying more attention Litecoin than its predecessor? Here are a few reasons.

Fast transaction speeds

One of the main reasons cryptocurrencies are attractive is their ability to provide speedy transactions. Bitcoin was okay, but Litecoin is even faster.

Whereas the Bitcoin turnaround time was 10 minutes, Litecoin transactions take just a quarter of that time, turning around in 2.5 minutes.

This is not only beneficial for the investors, but the miners as well. In the same amount of time it takes a Bitcoin miner to receive one reward, a Litecoin miner will have earned four.

Its market capitalization

Bitcoin has a much greater capitalization than Litecoin. However, it is more psychologically appealing to investors to try their luck with Litecoin than Bitcoin.

Since Bitcoin already has a massive market capitalization, it has a minute chance of doubling its capitalization. This means that investors are highly unlikely to get a double return on their investments.

Litecoin, on the other hand, is still building its numbers, and is thus more attractive. It can easily double and give investors greater returns.

The number of total coins compared to Bitcoin

With fiat currencies, when there is a shortage of money, more of it can be printed if need be. However, when it comes to cryptocurrencies, there is a ceiling to the number of coins that can be in circulation. Once we reach the maximum number, no more new coins can be generated.

While the maximum number of Bitcoin is 21 million, it is 84 million for Litecoin. Litecoin also a has a lower price, and speculative investors can purchase whole units rather than parts of coins, then wait for the unit price to rise – as it will.

It can protect itself from flood attacks

In July 2015 Bitcoin suffered a flood attack. This occurs when the network receives extreme numbers of transactions, ultimately clogging its blocks.

Litecoin learned from Bitcoin’s misfortune and put in place a contingency plan.

You see, at the time the flood attack hit Bitcoin, a single user was charged one flat fee, regardless of how many 0.00001 BTC transactions they performed.

To prevent Litecoin from suffering the same attack, Litecoin charges for every transaction. A flood attacker would, therefore, be forced to pay for every individual purchase, which will curtail such abuse.

It offers atomic swaps

Typically, when someone wants to exchange two cryptocurrencies, they have to involve an exchange. For instance, if you would like to change Bitcoin to Litecoin, you would go to an exchange and buy Litecoin, paying the exchange a transaction fee as well.

With Litecoin’s atomic swaps, you can look for someone with Litecoin and swap your Bitcoin with them directly. This new feature could save you not only time, but also money, because you forego the fees you would otherwise be paying to the exchange.

Where can you find Litecoin?

Now that you are familiar with some of the benefits of Litecoin, you must be itching to know where to find it. There are three ways of acquiring Litecoin. You can become a miner, purchase Litecoin on a crypto exchange, or even earn it for free.

If you want to trade Bitcoin for Litecoin, you can do so on the Kraken and Bitrexx exchanges, among others. When you want to buy Litecoin with fiat currency, you can use Bitfinex, Bittlylicious UK, Kraken, or BitBargain UK.

There are also numerous opportunities to earn free Litecoin: by completing surveys, referring your friends, downloading and playing games, or watching videos that reward you in Litecoin.

Litecoin mining involves the creation of new Litecoin coins. It is a process where you solve complex mathematical problems in competition with other miners to create a new block to feature on the blockchain.

As a miner, you obtain a reward every time you complete a block. You can also receive rewards every time Litecoin users transact.

How can you store Litecoin?

There is only one place you can store your Litecoin – in a wallet. There are four wallet options for you to choose from:

Hardware wallets – these are hardware devices on which you can store your Litecoin, the most common being USB sticks. Trezor and Ledger Nano S are two of the most popular ones.

these are hardware devices on which you can store your Litecoin, the most common being USB sticks. Trezor and Ledger Nano S are two of the most popular ones. Desktop wallets – these wallets are examples of “hot wallets”. All you need to do to have one is to download it. You can however only use it on the device you download it on. An example of one that supports Litecoin is Exodus.

these wallets are examples of “hot wallets”. All you need to do to have one is to download it. You can however only use it on the device you download it on. An example of one that supports Litecoin is Exodus. Mobile wallets – these, as the name suggests, you can take with you wherever you go. You download and use them on your mobile device.

these, as the name suggests, you can take with you wherever you go. You download and use them on your mobile device. Paper wallets – these are printouts of your public and private keys that you can then store in a place you consider safe, and only you know about. Make sure you don’t lose them, as that would mean losing your coins as well.

Where can you spend Litecoin?

If you don’t just want to hold your Litecoin but would also like to use it to make purchases, you can do so in the following ways:

VPNs

These are sites that help you scramble your location to avoid detection. It would only be fitting that they accept cryptos, which also give you privacy.

Get a gift card

Sites like Egifter allow you to buy gift cards in Litecoin. You can then use the gift cards at the store of your choice. You can buy gift cards for all sorts of stores, including Target and Amazon.

Bitcoin shops

Most Bitcoin shops will accept your Litecoin. They are also versatile, as you can purchase almost anything from them.

Final thoughts

The advent of digital money started with Bitcoin, but the currency had its weak points. This led to forks that gave birth to several altcoins.

Litecoin is one of the best of the bunch, and people should really follow LTC updates and news. It took into consideration the shortcomings of its “elder brother”, Bitcoin, and improved on them. It is also more scalable.

This has made it one of the most sought-after cryptos, and it has a bright future ahead.