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Bitcoin vs. Litecoin – Crypto Critics

Bitcoin vs. Litecoin

Lately, you’ve been hearing a lot about cryptocurrency. So, what is it and how is it changing the world around you? Cryptocurrency is an open source, digital form of currency that does not require a bank or other regulatory body. Instead, it uses a type of public journal called a blockchain, that documents transactions. This is all done without a central authority. As such, it is inherently untraceable and can be used to make general purchases or to facilitate international trade without credit card fees or currency conversion costs.

Cryptocurrencies are exchanged via computers and mobile devices, although physical coins do exist. Marketplaces that exchange the various types of cryptocurrency have developed to filter them into general circulation and to track their pricing. As of February 2017, The University of Cambridge estimated that as many as 5.8 million people worldwide were using cryptocurrency.

To get a better understanding of cryptocurrency, we’ll examine two of the more popular types: Bitcoin vs Litecoin

Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency to be released. Its appearance was heralded on August 18, 2008 when the website Bitcoin.org was registered. In January 2009, an unknown person calling himself Satoshi Nakamoto, released the open source code for this new currency. Bitcoins come available through a competitive process known as “mining,” wherein computers are used to solve complex puzzles. Whoever solves a puzzle is rewarded with Bitcoins and some 12.5 Bitcoins are released every ten minutes in this fashion. By February 2015, more than 100,000 companies were accepting Bitcoin including Microsoft and PayPal. That number has certainly increased.

Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin was released in 2011 by MIT Graduate and ex-Google engineer, Charlie Lee. It is the 3rd oldest cryptocurrency and currently has the 5th highest market cap. Litecoin was develop from Bitcoin’s source code and uses the same mining principal. However, Litecoin has a faster network allowing new coins onto the market every 2.5 minutes. In addition, this network completes transactions in just over two minutes, while it can take up to 5 hours for a Bitcoin transaction to go through.

The Differences

At this time, Bitcoin is king, due to the media coverage it received when its value surpassed $17,900 (USD) in early December 2017. But Litecoin’s value has risen some 8,000% since its release, rising over $255 (USD) in December 2017. In January 2017, it was trading for just $4.36. This is nearly 8 times as much value growth as Bitcoin during the same period. As a result, Litecoin is a more accessible option for most investors. There are also far fewer Bitcoins on the market than there are litecoins; some 21 million bitcoin vs litecoin numbering 84 million. As of December 2017, Bitcoin has a market cap of $282.8 compared to just $14.4 for Litecoin.

The security of Bitcoin exchanges has been called into question due to some high-profile thefts, most recently in December 2017. Litecoin exchanges have not yet suffered similar breakdowns. It should also be noted that Charlie Lee sold most of his Litecoin holdings in December 2017 to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest. The same cannot be said of Satoshi Nakamoto as his identity remains unknown.

What Does the Future Hold?

It is hard to tell which of these two cryptocurrencies will come out on top. Bitcoin has the first to market advantage, a much more valuable product and has garnered the lion share of publicity. But Litecoin holds many advantages including network and transaction speed, seemingly better security, and greater access for most investors. However, potential short-term investors should remain cautious as many financial experts believe we are in a cryptocurrency bubble. It is unknown which currency is in a better position to survive such a market correction.