What is Litecoin (LTC)?
Created by former Google engineer Charlie Lee in October 2011, Litecoin is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies still in wide use. It started as a modified copy of Bitcoin's code aimed at faster, cheaper everyday payments. The project is supported today by the non-profit Litecoin Foundation.
- Type
- Payment-focused layer-1 cryptocurrency
- Launched
- 2011
- Consensus
- Proof of Work (Scrypt)
- Max supply
- 84 million LTC
- Swap network
- Litecoin
- Sector (Messari)
- Cryptocurrency
How Litecoin works
Litecoin uses Proof of Work like Bitcoin, but with the Scrypt hashing algorithm and a target block time of about two and a half minutes instead of ten. Since 2022 it has also offered MimbleWimble Extension Blocks (MWEB), an optional layer for confidential transactions.
What LTC is used for
LTC is mainly used as a payment coin, for merchant checkouts and for moving value quickly between exchanges and wallets. Many people also hold it as a long-standing, simply designed digital asset with a fixed supply.
LTC supply
Supply is capped at 84 million LTC, four times Bitcoin's limit. The block reward halves every 840,000 blocks, roughly every four years, until the cap is reached.
Before you swap LTC
Litecoin deposits are credited only after the network has confirmed them, so allow a few block times before your swap starts. When withdrawing, send to a standard Litecoin address (starting with L, M or ltc1) rather than an MWEB address unless you know the receiver supports it.