Litecoin miners, pools and exchanges have been informed to prepare for the pending CSV and SegWit activation. The date has been confirmed in a note issued by Bitcoin Core contributor, Johnson Lau for around May ­11 at block 1,201,536. It could also happen earlier depending on hashrate.

The network reached the required number of signaling blocks and locked into its final phase to activate the long-awaited SegWit on Wednesday April 26. The Lightning Network would also be ready for implementation on Litecoin at the same time according to its founder, Charlie Lee. He has also confirmed that Bitcoin Core developers have been working with Litecoin on Confidential Transactions CT and Merkelized Abstract Syntax Trees MAST.

According to Lau, MAST which will is aimed at improving flexibility and increasing privacy “…will make LTC script language 2 generations ahead of BTC.”

Between LTC and BTC

The litmus test for Litecoin would come after the next two weeks. SegWit activation is expected to fix a transaction malleability bug and reduce the size of transactions stored on the blockchain to accommodate more in a block. Afterwards, wallet providers and other major users are expected to deploy SegWit-enabled apps. The idea is to help Litecoin gain wider adoption not only in China where it is highly recognised as a viable digital currency but in other parts of the world.

The Lightning Network, on its part, is to enable the Litecoin blockchain connect and share specific information with Bitcoin’s to create a seamless movement of value between the two networks. If achieved, the scalable instant payment network built on the chain would enable cheaper transactions and faster transaction times.

The view that Bitcoin is stuck right now with little or no innovation happening on its network has been playing out for a while. The stand-off over the scalability and non-availability of a layer like LN could force users to another chain. It makes sense then, especially with the rising price of Bitcoin, that Litecoin could be handy for basic day-to-day transactions while Bitcoin takes the grand position as a settlement currency and for larger transactions as the most secure chain.

Though it has the capacity – already four times that of Bitcoin and expected to double once SegWit activates – and a reasonable choice to handle such transactions for now, Litecoin has to make a very good impact on the market to be taken seriously. Its use for smaller transactions is not expected to take form until the next couple years. For now, it has to convince the world that it can deliver.

As a decentralized system that is defined by the software the users run, Litecoin has been described as neither being a democracy nor subject to control by any one person or group. It is designed to produce 84 million currency units.

According to a French startup, ACINQ, which has ran its LN solution known as Eclair as a testnet on Litecoin even without changing the code, it is very possible that the first LN payment carrying real value will be made on Litecoin.

An individual developer, Jack Mallers‏, has also published the mobile and desktop application he has been working on for the Lightning Network.