Although Bitcoin is the most popular and the first crypto to be launched in the digital world, many popular altcoins have joined the market, and Litecoin is one such crypto. Litecoin was launched as an alternative to Bitcoin with a newer algorithm that provides higher transaction speed, produces a larger number of tokens, and improves the overall value and usability of the crypto. Litecoin is considered a Bitcoin fork based on a similar underlying verification method and blockchain as Bitcoin. However, several key differences may influence the users’ decision when choosing the best option.
Let’s check out why Litecoin has suddenly sparked the interest of several investors worldwide and how the altcoin has journeyed remarkably to become the hero of digital currency after Bitcoin.
Litecoin’s Ascendancy Post-Bitcoin
Litecoin was developed in 2011 by Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer who announced Bitcoin’s Lite version through a message on the Bitcoin forum. Since Litecoin was launched, it has created a wave of reaction to the tendency of BTC to gravitate towards centralization. Since the code used by Litecoin is similar to that of Bitcoin, it is used as a test net for different technologies. While Bitcoin transactions require approximately 10 minutes per confirmation and can handle 5 to 7 transactions per second (TPS), Litecoin generates blocks in approximately 2.5 minutes and can handle 56 TPS. This has heavily contributed to the popularity of Litecoin, especially in e-commerce, retail, online gambling, and sports betting.
Litecoin’s Strengths as the Hero
Bitcoin and Litecoin share some similar characteristics, but they each have unique features. Litecoin is popularly known as the silver to Bitcoin as the digital gold. The strengths of Litecoin have made it achieve a new name of being Bitcoin’s Lite version due to its capacity, transaction, speed, scaling, and other attributes. Litecoin uses PoW (proof-of-work) and employs Scrypt for its hashing function. Scrypt utilizes SHA-256, similar to Bitcoin, but it includes higher memory requirements for PoW, reducing its dependability on GPU ALUs and ASIC mining machines. Moreover, Litecoin ensures enhanced security features using cryptographically secure methods, including advanced encryption protocols to prevent double spending, identify exchanges, and safeguard client information.
Litecoin as a Transaction in Online Gambling & Betting
Litecoin also plays a crucial role as a peer-to-peer virtual currency, offering secure and fast transactions with low fees for online gamblers and sports bettors. Many online casinos and sportsbooks accept Litecoin as a payment option due to the fast and efficient transactions, cost-effective betting, enhanced security, privacy and anonymity, and growing currency adoption. However, players must use the Litecoin sports betting sites licensed and regulated by renowned regulatory bodies to avoid falling into traps with fraudsters, scammers, and other cyber criminals.
Litecoin in E-Commerce and Retail
As per many sources online, Litecoin is the fourth most widely used cryptocurrency in e-commerce and online retail shopping, just behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT. Litecoin payments increased by over 6% from 2021 and stood in 13th place in the market cap. LTC payments have increased in online shopping because of the meager transaction fees that make it a decent crypto for e-commerce and retail payments. The average cost of transactions revolves around $0.0070 per LTC transaction. Moreover, Litecoin takes about 2.5 minutes instead of 10 minutes for Bitcoin. These reasons have made Litecoin an excellent alternative to Bitcoin in the e-commerce and retail sectors.
Conclusion
With a higher transaction throughput and faster block times, Litecoin was developed to be a more scalable and practical medium of exchange than Bitcoin. It has successfully become one of the most trusted, widely used, and recognized blockchain-based payment methods across e-commerce, retail, online gambling, and sports betting industries. Litecoin is inevitably an undisputed hero of digital currency for transactions in a world full of altcoins. Its growing importance and practicality make Litecoin an incredibly useful virtual currency for users worldwide.
