"Be careful there!"

Tweet litecoin creator Charlie Lee in response to the launch of Litecoin Cash, a cryptocurrency that is expected to roll out of his project, the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by total value, next weekend, with its code and history of transactions. Always frank, Lee called the project a "scam", warning users: "Do not fall into the trap".

His harsh remarks might surprise since litecoin cash developers acknowledge that they have no connection to the official litecoin project and do not see it as a competitor.

Just like other "forking" projects to create new cryptocurrency, litecoin cash developers claim that they simply want to use an existing code base to create a new form of online trading . In addition, by changing the underlying litecoin mining algorithm to the uses of a bitcoin, they argue that litecoin cash will bring new life to old abandoned mining equipment in some sort of strange recycling attempt.

But while developers say that's the motivation, users seem mostly interested in "free" money. Already, an influx of buyers on more consumer-friendly places is pushing the price of litecoin to noticeable heights, in part because, due to the mechanics of the fork, any user who has litecoin at the time of the fork will immediately have a portion of litecoin in cash.

Supporting this view is the name "litecoin cash", an obvious reference to the successful bitcoin cash fork, the profitable project that triggered the wave of forks bearing in 2018.

And the head developer of cash litecoin, Tanner, who has not given his full name, admits that the project has named it as such to attract more attention.

He told CoinDesk:

"Community involvement is the key to success for any coin I think" Hey, you already own this, why not check what we're doing "It's a good starting point for people."

By doing this, Tanner told CoinDesk that the litecoin wizard is hoping to use the free coin gift as a springboard to create a better coin bitcoin with lower transaction times.

And in this way, the two cash projects are different. While bitcoin cash rallied the support of those with a competing technical vision, cash-litec does not seem to have the same strong ideological roots.

No debate

For starters, bitcoin money probably had more importance since it was created as the culmination of years of debate in the bitcoin community.

Last summer, bitcoin and miners were pioneers in the world of forking – they did not know if they would create a room that people would want to use. Although they have not replaced bitcoin, as their developers hoped, they have gathered a community, and today, they are the fourth largest market-cap cryptocurrency, attracting users who support its unique technical roadmap.

Litecoin's money does not have a similar history and pull leading to it. Thus, litecoiners like Lee doubt litecoin cash serves the same purpose as Bitcoin Cash as a way to settle an argument.

Litecoin Cash has also not made such claims, but Lee is concerned that even though Litecoin Cash does not claim to be associated with Litecoin, it will confuse users anyway.

Lee told CoinDesk:

"This creates confusion among people who think that the litecoin is dividing. The litecoin community has no interest in splitting. It's just a few people trying to to earn money quickly. "

Lee said that he has not witnessed any debate in the litecoin community, not on the litecoin mining algorithm, sha256, the litecoin feature plans to cash to be implemented. "No one wants to shove the litecoin to sha256, it's pretty stupid," he said.

"Yes, I can understand this confusion, I can also understand people who shout" scam ", Tanner said. "I think [Lee] is absolutely right to keep his arms and protect his project and his community, I do not expect him to change our minds about us but I Hope that he will finally recognize that we are trying to teach people to be safe. "

Meanwhile, most users seem interested in free money.

As a user put it in the Telegram chat group: "We want the fork for free parts that can be real or fraudulent."

Fork Obsession

Lee's comments are part of a larger setback against the ranges.

A big reason, as he alluded to, is the confusion of the brand. Bitcoin forks already take the name "bitcoin" with them, although they have no association with the "real" bitcoin project most known.

A developer has even recently suggested to continue a project that takes the name of bitcoin to "mitigate confusion" for new users. This idea has turned out to be very unpopular, but it shows the general skepticism of the ranges and the way the developers have no control over the situation.

Litecoin's liquidity argues that they use the litecoin prefix simply because it's just become a common practice lately. "Anyone who has paid attention to the bitcoin forcing period hears" litecoin cash "and understands immediately that it's a litecoin fork," Tanner said.

"I can not deny it also appealed to our sense of humor to stitch the wasp nest with our choice of denomination," he added.

And it may work, since litecoin funds have attracted a lot of attention from the media.

That said, Tanner argues that the project seeks to stand out from the litecoin forks that he inevitably thinks follow: "There will be forks that follow us, who are trying to confuse you, and who are looking to scam you . "

Yet Lee remains unconvinced that Litecoin has merit, concluding:

"In my mind, it's just a scam and it hurts the bedecoin."

Litecoin image bitcoin via Shutterstock

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